The deadline for the Broward Sheriff’s Office to renew their contract with the county’s 911 system came and went at the beginning of the year, so now the question is what happens next?
The sheriff’s office runs the 911 emergency dispatch system and it is paid for by the Broward County government.
Saturday was the deadline for Sheriff Gregory Tony to sign a three-month extension, but there was apparently no response from the sheriff.
On Sunday, Broward’s county administrator, Monica Cepera, wrote a letter to the sheriff saying the agreement had ended. She also asked for a meeting this week "to plan for an orderly transition of the operator function."
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"I had hoped that the sheriff would have executed the agreement as is but unfortunately he did not and therefore per our statutory regulations, we have to provide the 911 system and so the administration sent the letter to the sheriff notifying him that there is no longer an agreement and that we have to move forward," Broward Mayor Lamar Fisher said.
The sheriff’s office was closed for the holiday Monday so NBC 6 has not received a response from them.
The system has had some operational issues in the past and was a major topic of discussion by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.
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When someone dials 911 in Parkland, either Coral Springs first responders or the Broward Sheriffs Office responds, depending on the type of emergency. The communications systems used by those agencies don’t talk to each other, and the MSD Commission said unacceptable delays can occur.
The crux of the issue is that Coral Springs Police and Coconut Creek Police use a different, higher-tech 911 dispatch system compared to Broward County’s older system, and attempts to integrate them have repeatedly stalled. Coral Springs bought an expensive hub system that could link with the county’s system, but it hadn't even been tested by the time the commission et in November. The MSD commission blamed the county, saying it should let BSO run the system.
The problems with the 911 system came to a head in April when a woman lost her home in a fire after her calls to 911 went unanswered.
The sheriff had been back and forth with the county previously saying they were understaffed with dispatchers and that he’d sign the contract only if the county made technological changes.
The Broward County Commission had recently approved over $4 million to help fill positions with dispatch personnel.
Fisher said the sheriff’s office will continue to run the operator system during the transition, which could take between 6 to 9 months.
"There’s no change immediately. The sheriff will continue to do so until that transition is put in place. We need to move forward and make sure that public safety is our number one priority at Broward County and make sure that those calls will be answered," Fisher said.
The issue is expected to be discussed at the next county commission meeting on Jan. 24th.
