“The place has to quarantine,” said Anoka County Board Chair Scott Schulte. “Everybody that’s on duty that day has to be tested and quarantined. Because of that, we have back-up dispatchers.”
There’s also a back-up dispatch center, but it’s already in use to keep 911 operators socially distanced. So, the county is investing $185,000 in a mobile dispatching system they will share with other counties. Schulte says it’s a large van equipped with laptops and radio consoles.
Schulte calls it an extra step to make sure 911 is always available.
Another $125,000 in federal CARES Act money is being spent to help protect first responders from COVID when they answer a call. It’s a software package that prompts dispatchers to ask certain questions to make sure a first responder isn’t walking into a dangerous situation.
Schulte says the software to run these systems is expensive, but it has to be done right.
“Software is more expensive and it never gets cheaper and every year you have more or different or something,” Schulte says. “It’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Another software system recently purchased will allow the county to send out notifications to precise areas of the county when there’s an emergency. The new system will be able to target individual city blocks to notify. Money from the federal CARES Act is paying for the new systems.
