IDAHO – The Idaho Legislature should consider creating a statewide 911 program to address maintaining the emergency communication system as costs rise and technology ages, according to a new report issued Friday by an independent Idaho watchdog agency.
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“Most of Idaho’s 911 centers report that they are under financial strain, including 94% of those serving communities with fewer than 25,000 people,” Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations Director Ryan Langrill wrote in a letter accompanying the report. “Nearly two-thirds of centers have call-handling equipment nearing the end of life; about the same proportion do not have enough staff to meet their current demands.”
On Friday afternoon, the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee released a new report called “Challenges Facing Idaho’s 911 System.”
The Idaho Legislature’s Office of Performance Evaluation conducted the study and published the report, which is available to read and download on the office’s website. Tasha Schreiter conducted the evaluation, with assistance from Casey Petti and Rebecca Hoskins – all of whom are with OPE.
Among the report’s findings were that the $1 monthly phone line fee that provides funding for 911 centers has not changed since 1988. The report found many local 911 systems are near the end of their life.
The Office of Performance Evaluations, or OPE, is an independent, nonpartisan office of the Idaho Legislature. As part of its mission to promote confidence and accountability in state government, OPE evaluates whether state government programs and agencies are operating efficiently, operating cost-effectively and achieving their intended results.
The OPE report found several challenges for the 911 system in Idaho.
- Funding challenges
- Staffing shortages
- Possible inefficiencies, and
- Limited statewide oversight.
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Oversight of Idaho 911 systems is conducted at the local level, mostly by counties and cities. OPE officials said the Idaho Legislature should consider evolving the Idaho Public Safety Communications Commission into a statewide 911 program.
“Idaho lacks a statewide 911 program with sufficient authority and capacity to address gaps in oversight of funding, data, standards and long-term planning,” the authors of the report wrote. “While local control remains central to 911 operations, the absence of a statewide 911 program limits coordination and accountability, particularly as Idaho transitions to (Next Generation 911).”
OPE also recommended requiring local governments to report annual budgets and expenditures for emergency communications systems, among other recommendations.
Although OPE reported that Idaho has more 911 centers than neighboring states and fewer 911 calls and texts than neighboring states, OPE did not recommend consolidating 911 centers because of high up-front costs, concerns over losing local control and service quality, and due to the need for system redundancy.
The report was the second 911-related report the Office of Performance Evaluations has released in recent months. In September, the office released a report recommending that Idaho Legislature stabilize funding as the state transitions to the more modern emergency communications system called Next Generation 911, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations to conduct four additional evaluation reports
In addition to releasing the new report on Idaho’s 911 system, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee also selected four more topics for the Office of Performance Evaluations to study and report on in the next year.
Those report topics include:
- A comprehensive evaluation of Idaho’s Boards of Community Guardians, the guardian and conservator of last resort for vulnerable adults who need a guardian but do not have anyone available.
- A study examining the factors driving growth in Idaho’s prison population.
- An evaluation of Idaho’s oversight of sexual assault in women’s correctional facitlies. The request was inspired by a five-part InvestigateWest series called “Guarded by Predators,” which documented allegations of rape and sexual abuse In Idaho and reported that sexual abuse in women’s prisons goes largely unchecked.
- A comprehensive study examining the impact of residential development growth on agriculture and infrastructure.
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