Dispatch staff seeks $29,898 recorder upgrade and begins CAD search; county to pursue grants

Kelsey, the county's dispatch lead, briefed commissioners on planned dispatch upgrades for 2027. She said the current voice recorder system cannot be updated and quoted a replacement at $29,898; the vendor would waive the first-year maintenance fee. Kelsey said replacement of console headsets and the recorder would cover routine operational reliability and that the new recorder would retain seven years of call storage required for court and investigative purposes.

Kelsey also discussed the county's aging CAD system (about 14 years old) and said she has scheduled demos for potential modern replacements; she warned commissioners that a full CAD replacement could be expensive and might approach half a million dollars depending on vendor and scope. Dispatch staff said they are pursuing grants and demos to evaluate options and balancing which elements to fund from E911 funds versus the dispatch general fund.

The commission asked for cost detail, and staff said they would continue to seek grant help and refine estimates for budget inclusion.