Waushara County 911 committee adopts ‘hey you, it’s me’ radio format and standardizes dispatch name

The Waushara County 911 Steering Committee voted to keep the nationally used “hey you, it’s me” radio protocol for mutual‑aid and Incident Command System (ICS) communications and to standardize the dispatch label as “Comm Center.” The motion was seconded by Ryan and carried by voice vote; the chair said a memo announcing the change will be issued after the meeting.

The committee’s chair introduced the change as part of a broader shift in how the county’s communications center refers to itself and handles multi‑agency radio traffic. “We’re in the process of transitioning to the hey you it's me bridge,” the chair said, arguing the model should reduce confusion when multiple agencies respond to the same incident.

Why it matters: supporters said the format aligns radio procedure with national practice and simplifies dispatcher workload, particularly where fire and EMS already use plain language. Opponents and cautioning voices said law enforcement historically relies on 10‑codes and other conventions and may not readily adopt plain‑language call signs. One speaker representing the sheriff’s department warned bluntly: “Law enforcement doesn't do that.”

Committee members discussed three related operational issues: whether different counties and agencies will continue to answer on multiple comm centers, whether dispatchers scanning multiple frequencies will reliably recognize which center is being called, and how to reconcile plain language with law‑enforcement radio practices. The chair said the timing was favorable because the center recently changed its public name to the Comm Center and has several new dispatch hires who will be trained on the protocol.

The motion approved by the committee directed staff to issue a memo formalizing the change and to coordinate training and outreach with neighboring agencies; the chair said the memo would be distributed immediately after the meeting. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript; the change was approved by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will send a memo to participating agencies, schedule trainings and a law‑enforcement meeting to discuss operational details, and implement the protocol changes on a timeline to be set by the communications center.