9-1-1 Advisory Board Notes – March 7, 2018


The quarterly 9-1-1 Advisory Board Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 7th. Below is a synopsis of that meeting. A video of the complete meeting will be available on the 9-1-1 Branch website: http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/public-safety-communications/ca-9-1-1-emergency-communications-branch.

Emergency Alerts and Warning Systems
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin gave a brief presentation on Lake County’s experiences during recent wildfires related to emergency alerts and warning systems. My takeaway from the presentation was the fact that there is not one method of notification that will get to the majority of the population, and that much of the population won’t get the message in time. The other takeaway was a need for multiple personnel that need to be able to send out the messages, so it can be done in a timely fashion.

Legislative Matters
The 9-1-1 Branch is working with legislative staff on language for a SETNA trailer bill to follow up on the Governor’s Budget Bill. In essence, the bill will change how users are charged (by device, not by intra-state phone charges), and that rate with be variable 10 cents to 60 cents per month, to be set by the 9-1-1 Branch each year. The budget for the 9-1-1 Branch also includes money this year to begin the NG9-1-1 project. No bill number has been established, but if you want to look at the trailer bill language, you can go to the Dept. of Finance: http://www.dof.ca.gov/Budget/Trailer_Bill_Language/documents/911Sustainment.pdf

NG9-1-1 Regional Workgroups
As an integral part of implementing NG9-1-1, the 9-1-1 Branch wants to organize Regional workgroups for the 4 ESINet Regions (see attached map). The makeup of these workgroups has not been finalized, but if you are interested in participating, contact Andrew Mattson, Regional Facilitator NG911 Services (916) 657-9459 andrew.mattson@caloes.ca.gov.

9-1-1 Call Statistics
The 9-1-1 Branch reported that there were a total of 28,129,927 9-1-1 calls in 2017. That is down around 300,000 calls from 2016. It is believed that some of the difference is the reduction in call transfers due to the reallocation of cell sectors. The 9-1-1 Branch is also working with 24 PSAPs whose call answer times are <85% within 15 seconds. They report significant improvements with those PSAPs in the past few months.

Cell Sector Rerouting
Over 330,000 cell sectors were reviewed in 2017, with over 35,000 sectors being rerouted to a more appropriate PSAP.

Wireless 9-1-1 Call Answering
As of this meeting, all PSAPs in CA are now accepting wireless 9-1-1 calls.

Fiscal and Operational Reviews (FOR)
Approximately 120 PSAPs are receiving a FOR from the 9-1-1 branch every year. These are carried out by the PSAP Advisors, with the goal of reviewing every PSAP in the state every 3 to 5 years. This is a statutory requirement and is intended to assist the PSAPs meet their commitments to the 9-1-1 system.

Foreign Language Contract
Voiance is the new language translator for the 9-1-1 Branch. PSAPs will be contacted by Voiance in the next few weeks to implement the transition from Language Line. If you wish to contract with another translation service, it has to be done on a reimbursement basis – contact your 9-1-1 Advisor.

NG9-1-1
Plans are moving forward with NG9-1-1. The CA Public Utility Commission has to set a tariff for NG9-1-1 services, so that needs to be done before the ESINets can move forward. This has moved some internal milestones, but the ultimate goal is to be completely done with the project in 2022. The estimated budget for the whole project period (including transitioning from legacy and early implementer operating costs) is $330 million.

State Emergency Telephone Number Account (SETNA)
As mentioned above, there is language for a bill to be presented that will change the funding formula for SETNA. If the bill is introduced and passed in this legislative session, the SETNA account will see an increase for the first time in 10 years. The 9-1-1 Branch is asking all PSAPs to increase their visibility with your State and Federal law makers. Invite them to your PSAP and let them see the amazing job you all do every day and how important it is to have the SETNA funded appropriately.

Text to 9-1-1
158 PSAPs in CA are currently taking text to 9-1-1. An additional 61 PSAPs are working to accept text by the end of this year. If you are considering accepting text calls, contact Chereise Bartlett, Emerging Technologies NG911 Services (916) 657-9235 chereise.bartlett@caloes.ca.gov.

Next 9-1-1 Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for June 7th, 2018.

My term as your 9-1-1 Advisory Board representative is up in May. The Board of Directors are working on selecting my replacement, but I don’t know if they will be appointed by the June meeting. If not, I will continue to represent NorCal APCO and CPRA to the best of my abilities. If my replacement is in place by the June meeting, then I want to say it’s been a privilege to serve in this position for the past 4 years.