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Battle Lines Drawn in Manatee County, Fla., 911 Upgrade Debate

The county is offering a single workplace at the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center for all those answering 911 calls, but some cities complain they have not been consulted in the planning.

The battle lines have been drawn in the debate about a new multimillion-dollar 911 emergency call system for Manatee County.

County officials, who control the money and have state authority when it comes to overseeing 911, say they want to upgrade to a high-tech system based on Internet Protocol.

The current arrangement with individual city call centers will be obsolete next year, and the county vendor has said it would not be able to continue supporting it, said Paul Alexander, director of the Manatee County Information Technology Department, during an interview Monday with the Bradenton Herald.

The county is offering a single workplace at the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center for all those answering 911 calls, but some cities with their own centers, such as Bradenton, complain they have not been consulted in the planning.

They argue if the system is going to change, they would like to ensure its outcome is better customer service. The issue is scheduled for discussion from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday at a Council of Governments meeting.

Alexander predicted an upgrade could produce a drastic improvement in all 911 services.

"It's going to profoundly change the landscape of how the 911 services are delivered," Alexander said.

An upgrade from a traditional telephone system to an Internet Protocol-based system would enable operators to receive phone calls and text messages, email and video.

They could more quickly and accurately track smartphone locations, which is now problematic.

The county now answers emergency calls at six sites and a backup site. The sites include the county Emergency Communications Center at Manatee County Emergency Operations Center, Manatee County Sheriff's Office and police departments in Bradenton, Palmetto, Longboat Key and Holmes Beach.

Answering 911 calls can be a separate function from dispatching police, fire and emergency medical service personnel.

For instance, cellphone calls from Bradenton are answered at the county Emergency Communications Center and then transferred for dispatching to Bradenton police.

Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski, noting 85 percent of all 911 calls are requests for police help, said he wants Bradenton law enforcement personnel to answer such calls directly.

Transfers waste time and increase the chance of losing a caller, he said.

"We're lacking a conversation of what is really needed, and how to get there," Radzilowski said during an interview Monday with the Herald. "All we want is better customer service. It's pretty basic."

Radzilowski said he's also annoyed most counties share money from the state accruing from 911 fees levied on phone customers, yet Manatee County does not.

"We're asking why?" the chief said.

In 2013-14, Manatee County's share of state money for 911 services will total about $1.1 million, according to Radzilowski. That figure is expected to increase after a measure passed by the 2014 Florida Legislature changed how 911 fees are collected.

Two companies, Carousel Industries of North America Inc. and CenturyLink, earlier this month bid to begin the 911 modernization program.

Carousel's base bid was $684,612.

CenturyLink's was $679,585.

The base bids cover supplies, installation and one year of support for servers, backup servers and one answering point.

The county has qualified for a state grant to begin modernization, officials said.

Manatee County Public Service Director Ron Koper will present estimated project costs to county commissioners, municipal mayors and police and fire chiefs during the Council of Governments meeting at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, One Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

©2014 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)