The Macon-Bibb County E-911 Center under the direction of Dr. Keith Moffett has been named 9-1-1 Center of the Year by the Georgia Association of Public Safety Communication Officers (APCO) and the Georgia Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). The award was presented March 11 during the Georgia Emergency Communications Conference in Athens.
“With the consolidation of the City of Macon and Bibb County in January 2014, the E-911 center was established as its own county department, and I’m very proud of the staff for truly rising to the challenges of increasing numbers of calls and the installation of new technology,” says Dr. Moffett. “On the first day of our new government, we were the first test of how the consolidation would work because of our role in protecting the community.”
“I want to congratulate Dr. Moffett and the E-911 staff for this well-deserved recognition. They are proof that consolidation is working and is improving services to our community,” says Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert. “They are on-call day and night, helping people in time of need, and they have been able to keep that up even facing the challenges that were placed before us. Our gratitude goes to them and all they do to keep us safe.”
In 2013 as part of the Macon Police Department, the Center received 653,951 emergency and non-emergency calls and dispatched 268,092 calls in the former city limits. During the first year as a new department in the consolidated Macon-Bibb County, the Center received 775,163 emergency and non-emergency calls and dispatched 324,259 calls countywide. With the 16% increase in call volume and 18% increase in dispatch calls, the Center answered 63% all calls (emergency and non-emergency) in fewer than three rings with no additional increase in personnel.
Even with the increase in calls and challenges of creating a new department, the Center installed a more advanced 800 MHz communication system from Harris Communications and a new public safety computer-aided dispatch program. These improvements to the center were made during normal operating hours while continuing to process calls. Training for these improvement required team members to work after hours and come in on their off days.
About the 9-1-1 Center of the Year Award
The award of the Georgia 9-1-1 Center of the Year is given to a center that exhibits outstanding professionalism, leadership, and innovation, and service to the community it serves, as well as to its region and state. Award recipients are chosen from a slate of nominees from around the state. Nominations were sent to the South Carolina NENA chapter to review and make recommendations. Having another chapter review the nominations removes any chance of favoritism or loss of objectivity; so that everyone can be assured that the winning nominations were considered and awarded to the most deserving nominee.