Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Copyright 2006 Chattanooga Publishing Company
Finding a project manager to oversee the unification of Hamilton County’s emergency dispatch systems is on the 911 Emergency Communications District Board’s to-do list, according to Chairman Don Allen.
Mr. Allen told fellow board members at their monthly meeting Wednesday that he hopes to draft a job description for the project manager by Jan 1.
“We need to get them on board in the early stages of this unification,” he said, adding that the manager would stay on to head operations of the newly consolidated center once the project is complete.
The board also is hoping to develop a timeline for the overall unification, which will involve standardizing the systems of the eight independent dispatch systems now operating from the Hamilton County 911 Center on Amnicola Highway.
Consultants originally predicted that much of the unification could be completed in three years, and Mr. Allen has expressed a desire to meet or exceed that goal. But on Wednesday, he noted that additional studies of finance and personnel issues are required before a pace can be set.
Discussions with attorneys for each of the county’s municipalities also may affect the course of events, he said.
“This train is just starting to move,” Mr. Allen said. “It hasn’t gotten out of the station, but it’s moving at least. We don’t have all the answers, and we don’t know all the directions this will take yet. We want to be very methodical with this thing.”
The board gave a formal nod to the unification plan in September, though the desire to consolidate Hamilton County’s police, fire and rescue services has been around since 1993, according to board members.