The county’s 911 Center now can identify the location of Verizon Wireless callers.

Paulding County 911 Center Director David Munford told the Board of Commissioners last week that Verizon is the first wireless carrier providing Phase II service, ahead of schedule. Phase II allows 911 to pinpoint the wireless caller’s location within several feet to several hundred feet, depending on the wireless provider’s equipment and other variables.

Munford said AT&T Mobility is scheduled to begin providing Phase II data next March, while other carriers will be Phase II capable within six months.

The 911 Center director updated commissioners June 9 on progress within the bureau that employs 30 people manning the public safety answering point, providing dispatch service to the Sheriff’s Office, Fire/Rescue and Hiram police, as well as call transfer service to Dallas and notification service to Clark Ambulance.

The bureau’s progress was honored with the state GANENA Center of the Year award for 2008, “which is impressive, considering the agencies under consideration,” Munford said.

In 2008, 16 Sheriff’s Office patrol units were equipped with mobile data terminals that allow deputies and 911 employees to communicate without using voice communications. Munford said benefits include greater officer safety because there are no radio transmissions to be overheard, decrease in radio traffic which frees radio lines for emergencies and reduction in 911 staffing during peak periods.

Mobile data terminals are to be installed in the remaining 60 sheriff’s patrol units this month, he said.

Paulding County 911 was also chosen to test an interoperability project funded by the state and administered by Georgia Tech that allows a computer at Paulding 911 to connect with other 911 centers and agencies with similar equipment around the state. “This capability could prove extremely valuable in the event of a major disaster involving mutual aid,” said Munford.

The center is also subscribing to a Web-based weather radar system allowing monitoring of lightning strikes within a 30-mile radius and allowing direct communication with a meteorologist.

Another new development is a computerized applicant testing program that has become the national standard for pre-employment testing of 911 communications officers. “Studies have shown that the use of this pre-employment testing reduces turnover rates which, in turn, will reduce operating expenses,” Munford explained.

Paulding County 911 is also certified as an Emergency Medical Dispatch agency that can provide pre-arrival instructions on CPR, emergency childbirth and emergency first aid. Munford said the county medical director has approved a change in Emergency Medical Dispatch protocols that are less complicated, and the center has added computer-based electronic protocols as well.

The center houses an Emergency Operations Center that serves as a command point in emergencies, with a back-up radio system, computers and radio equipment maintained by Paulding County Amateur Radio Emergency Services group.

Munford said costs have been reduced with in-house certification and training of communications officers, a process that takes six to nine months.

He added that $1.50 monthly fees now paid by wireless communication customers, along with wireline fees, could make the 911 Center self-supporting as soon as the end of 2010.

The center processed a total call volume of 204,120 calls in calendar year 2008, Munford said, including 88,715 law enforcement dispatches and 9,381 for fire/rescue, as well as 106,024 telephone calls. The call volume is 3 percent higher than 2007, including a 7 percent rise in Sheriff’s Office dispatching and, 20 percent rise in Hiram Police dispatching and 2 percent more fire/rescue dispatches. Munford said 911 calls increased 13 percent in the past five years, up 43 percent for the Sheriff’s Office, 104 percent for Hiram Police and 26 percent for the Fire Department.

Munford said the 911 Center in the future should relocate to a “larger, modern, more secure facility. We are currently in the process of reviewing and changing our policies to ensure that we meet national standards for communication centers, with the possibility of CALEA certification within the next two to three years.”

The 911 Center is enhancing safety with “a significant decrease in our call-taking times” that now average 85 seconds for Priority One and Priority Two calls received on 911 lines, he said. “We expect these numbers to drop by another 10-15 seconds as we continue to revise our policies and implement performance standards which conform to national standards.”