Ashland and Bayfield counties pool resources in the state's first county-to-county consolidation, keeping pace with 911 service evolution and improving emergency-response delivery.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 6, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mission Critical Partners (MCP) has announced completion of a project whereby its subject-matter experts guided Wisconsin's Ashland and Bayfield counties in the consolidation of two 911 centers. The new consolidated center went live in December 2024.
Across the United States, 911 centers are struggling to perform their missions, hampered by staffing shortages that in some areas are acute; by significant and sometimes severe funding limitations; and by aging technology that is experiencing performance issues and/or is approaching end of life, which makes maintenance more challenging due to a lack of vendor support and a dearth of replacement parts. To combat these issues, many centers have turned to virtual or physical consolidation with one or more neighboring centers as a way of pooling their resources.
Ashland and Bayfield counties border Lake Superior, about 60 miles east of Duluth, Minnesota, and each has a population of about 16,000. Combined, the centers handle approximately 33,000 calls annually.
MCP was hired by the counties to conduct a consolidation feasibility study in response to the rapidly changing 911 ecosystem, particularly in terms of technological advancements. The counties specifically wanted to know whether consolidation would enable them to:
- Improve public-safety and emergency-response services provided to citizens and field responders
- Improve workflows by streamlining processes and procedures, eliminating redundant equipment, and reducing emergency-call transfers
- Improve situational awareness and mutual-aid response
- Expand emergency medical dispatch (EMD) to Bayfield County
- Improve 911 center staffing
- Increase resources while reducing costs
- Improve operational uniformity through joint training and regular communications
The counties accepted MCP's recommendation to move forward with physical consolidation. The most important anticipated benefits include the ability to:
- Address the lack of interoperability that existed between disparate mission-critical systems and technologies that operated independently in the two 911 centers, notably the land mobile radio and call-handling systems.
- Reduce risk exposure by providing minimum staffing of two to three telecommunicators per shift, drawing from a combined workforce of 14 telecommunicators.
- Reduce operating costs by improving economies of scale and eliminating redundant and duplicate equipment, with a corollary benefit of reducing ongoing maintenance and replacement costs.
The next phase of the project involved MCP's subject-matter experts helping the counties navigate the consolidation, which included securing funding for the project through the state's grant program. The grant process is a vital and often challenging task, according to MCP project manager Stacy Banker.
"Grant guidance usually is very specific, and you have to ensure that every box is checked," Banker said. "The grant program specifically was targeting consolidation and MCP assisted the counties with identifying and justifying expenses that would support this overarching goal."
In addition to the grant support, MCP helped develop a comprehensive implementation plan that included creation of intergovernmental agreements and an organization structure for the new center. They also helped the counties decide whether to build from the ground up or retrofit an existing facility. Leveraging MCP's guidance, which was rooted in dozens of facility projects, the counties opted for the latter approach. Further, an intergovernmental board was established to oversee the consolidated center, which is managed by a civilian director.
According to Mark Abeles-Addison, Bayfield County administrator, one of MCP's most critical accomplishments was helping personnel from both counties work collaboratively to bring the new center to fruition.
"MCP was on task, knowledgeable, and effective at fostering collaboration between Ashland and Bayfield counties," Abeles-Allison said. "MCP guided us through a multijurisdictional process that was new to us — their wealth of knowledge kept us on track."
Darrin Reilly, MCP's president and CEO, praised the counties for making the necessary decision to consolidate and then executing their collective vision flawlessly. "The new 911 center is a leap forward in terms of providing emergency-response services to the citizens of Ashland and Bayfield counties. We're grateful for the opportunity to support this initiative in a variety of meaningful ways."
About Mission Critical Partners (MCP)
Mission Critical Partners (MCP) is a leading provider of data integration, consulting, network, and cybersecurity solutions specializing in transforming mission-critical communications networks into integrated ecosystems that improve outcomes in the public-safety, justice, healthcare, transportation, and utility markets. Our comprehensive experience and vendor-agnostic approach help us develop modernized solutions for our clients to maximize value and create optimal efficiency while mitigating risk. Additional information and career opportunities are available at www.MissionCriticalPartners.com.
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SOURCE Mission Critical Partners
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