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~~" <br />'T'here are multiple services that are similar in our county, however they are very <br />time consuming and tabor dependent. The County currently has multiple call down lists, <br />however it takes one or more people hours to call everyone on the list. One call-down <br />list is done through the 9-1-1 center where all the schools are notified in the event of a <br />severe weather warning, which ties up essential 9-1-1 dispatch personnel. <br />The project requires collaboration from partner agencies and the following <br />responsibilities: <br />Department on Aging and Department of Social Services <br />o Maintain special needs call list <br />o Maintain staffing list <br />o Update as necessary into system <br />o Develop appropriate messages for this group <br />Department of Human Rights and Relations <br />o Assist Immigrant Emergency Communications Committee with developing <br />call down list <br />o Provide or assist in arranging for interpretation services for messages <br />o Update information as necessary into system <br />o Develop culturally appropriate messages for various groups <br />Emergency Management <br />o Implement system, arrange for training <br />o Maintain telephone lines and equipment <br />o Update countywide telephone database for mass call feature <br />o Manage contracts and maintenance agreement, troubleshooting <br />Sustainability <br />'This system will be sustained though support of County operating funds. The <br />operating funds are available through property taxes, sales taxes, and other remittances <br />through normal governmental operations. These sustaining funds would be budgeted <br />for each year as part of the normal budgetary process. During the authorization of this <br />grant proposal, the Board of County Commissioners authorized future funding of the <br />system, once implemented. These sustaining funds will pay for system upgrades, 24 <br />hour technical support, access to the mass call center, lease of the telephone lines, and <br />an annual refresher training course. <br />The initial training will be provided for through the purchase confract. The vendor will <br />then provide atrain-the-trainer program where representatives from each partner <br />agency will attend the training program and then go back and train other members in <br />their agency. Again, this system will have the capability of not only day to day use, but <br />use during multiple emergencies, as long as the system itself is not destroyed in the <br />disaster. This system has an expected life span of 10+ years with annual maintenance <br />and system upgrades. Similar systems in other counties have been successfully <br />operating for eight years or more and continue to operate. <br />4 <br />