Pokey Harris, executive director of the North Carolina 911 Board, today announced the board has approved a total of $10.5 million in grants from the state’s 911 Fund for six counties and the N.C. State Highway Patrol for enhancements to 911 centers and emergency management equipment. The grants will support improvements such as radio and dispatch upgrades, new 911 centers (public service answering points, or PSAPs), and migration to ESInet, which will support text-to-911 and improved call routing.
“The Board is proud to support the state’s PSAPs and to improve the state’s 911 capabilities,” Harris said. “It’s through grant programs such as this that we keep North Carolina’s 911 centers on the forefront of technology to better serve and protect our residents.”
The grant recipients include:
- N.C. State Highway Patrol, NextGen911/ESInet, $1,101,933
- Chatham County, radio system upgrade, $2,339,608
- Cumberland County, relocation of 911 communications center, $2,251,387
- Currituck County, public safety building construction, $583,655
- Davie County, end-of-life CAD system replacement, $232,767
- Franklin County, emergency communications - new public service answering point (PSAP), $3,958,873
- Pender County, computer-aided dispatch upgrade project, $45,873
The N.C. General Assembly created the 911 Board in 2007 to manage both landline and wireless 911 services in North Carolina. A single, statewide service charge per connection for any type of voice communication service provider goes to the 911 Fund to support equipment purchases for all 911 centers in the state. The N.C. 911 Board is part of the N.C. Department of Information Technology and Secretary Eric Boyette serves as its chair.