The Kansas 911 Coordinating Council's (the Council's) recent efforts have focused on providing affordable, NG911 capable call handling to the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in Kansas, but many of them are operating on old or outdated equipment in other critical areas. Some of the systems needed to process NG911 calls can be very expensive and require large up-front expenditures of funds that are simply not available to many Kansas PSAPs, almost half of which operate on only $60,000 per year in 911 fees. Most of that money is taken up by regular recurring costs like phone lines, utility bills, and maintenance fees. Building up the reserves to tackle a large expenditure can be burdensome in any PSAP and impossible in some. Many PSAPs in Kansas need NG911 compliant voice recorders, new or updated Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, updated computer hardware and broadband data infrastructure, or wish to start Emergency Medical Dispatch systems but cannot afford the implementation costs.
To address this need, the Council applied to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)‘s 911 Grant Program and received funding for a subgrant project that can provide PSAPs with the funds to help cover the costs of hardware, software, and training associated with the processing and dispatching of NG911 calls.
The following costs have been determined to meet all eligibility requirements for subgrant funding.
- Replacement, upgrade, or enhancement of voice recorders
- Replacement, upgrade, or enhancement of computer or network equipment for use solely by the PSAP. Equipment for use both by the PSAP and by another department or departments falls under Section 3.2.6 Other Projects.
- Replacement, upgrade, or enhancement of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software. If the software is licensed per user, the maximum number of users is equal to 1.5 times the number of full-time communications officers employed by the PSAP.
- Backup phone systems for use solely in the PSAP. Phone systems for use both in the PSAP and by another department or departments fall under Section 3.2.6 Other Projects.
- Computer-based radio equipment for use solely in the PSAP.
- Implementation, replacement, upgrade, or enhancement of Emergency Dispatch protocol system like Emergency Medical Dispatch.
- Establishment, upgrade, or enhancement of IP networks needed to support the PSAP and their connection to emergency response organizations
- Any of the above items for use in establishing or maintaining Regional or Multi-PSAP backup centers
- One-time costs of implementing access to the Council's Hosted 911 system. This item applies to Non-traditional PSAPs only, as PSAPs that receive 911 fee disbursements do not pay these onetime costs as a result of the cost-share program with the Council.
The 911 Grant Program prohibits all grant and subgrant recipients from diverting any portion of designated 911 charges. In Kansas, this means that subgrant awards and regularly collected 911 fees must be used as outlined in the Kansas 911 Act. Any subgrant recipient found to be using 911 fees outside of the allowable uses in the Kansas 911 Act will be required to reimburse to the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council all subgrant funds spent on the recipient's behalf.