Cumberland County, Fayetteville to run unified 9‑1‑1 user survey; board directs staff to finalize questions with PIOs

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 11 directed staff to finalize a 9‑1‑1 user survey that will gather feedback from two audiences — first responders (agencies that use the system) and community end users (people who call 9‑1‑1).

Gary Crumple and county staff told the board that a joint city‑county review recommended a user survey. Vice Chair Jerome Jones and several commissioners argued the survey must include the public as well as internal responders. Jones said a single dynamic survey with respondent‑type checkboxes (e.g., "Are you a first responder? Are you a member of the public?") would allow the county to disaggregate responses by user group.

Commissioner Tyson moved to approve the survey as amended, direct staff to work with Fayetteville partners and the county PIO, and to conduct a user survey of the system within 30 days; results were to be returned at the Jan. 15 agenda session. The board voted unanimously to approve the direction.

Staff said they will present a final question set for board review at a January agenda session and coordinate public outreach and PIO support to ensure both internal and public audiences are covered. The motion directs the county manager to oversee survey distribution and return results to the board.