Guilford Metro 9-1-1

GUILFORD METRO 911ONE CALL, ONE CENTER, ONE SOURCE

2020 AnnualReport

1903 Midway StreetGreensboro NC 27403

336-373-2933

Guilford Metro 911 2020 AnnualReport

MissionStatement Page 2

Director’s Letter Page 3

Organizational Structure Page 4

AdministrativeStaff Page 5

Boards and UserGroups Page 6

Agencies WeServe Page 7

Agencies with Interoperability Page 8

Administration Division Page 9

Training and QualityAssurance Page 10

Public Relations Page 15

EmergencyCommunications Page 16

Public SafetyIT Page 20

TechnicalServices Page 24

Awards and Recognitions Page 28

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Guilford Metro 911 is to serve the community and

local government agencies with effective communications services

and to serve as a facilitator of communications for public safety

agencies in Guilford County. To be effective, Guilford Metro 911

utilizes all available resources to support the mission of subscriber

agencies.

We are committed to the priorities, mission, and objectives of those

we support and will partner with those departments and

organizations to accomplish their goals while we adhere to the core

values within the Department of Guilford Metro 911.

Guilford Metro 911 2020 AnnualReport2

Guilford Metro 911 (GM911) serves as the Primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) forenhanced 911 in Guilford County. The center provides 911, dispatch, and radio services forother cities, towns, and unincorporated areas in Guilford County, and only EMS dispatch for the City of High Point.

2020 brought a most challenging year to Guilford Metro. We suffered the loss of an active dutyemployee, and suffered the loss of a spouse of an employee. The pandemic created challengesfor the Operations staff, as many new policies were created, and some policies had to be changed to deal with response during the pandemic. As a Department, we managed to remainprogressive, especially from a technological perspective. A few of the many projects completed in 2020 include:

• GM911 Technical Services Division completed the new Southeast Tower site.• GM911 Technical Services Division set up several additional talk groups for direct communications for

surrounding agencies. • GM911 Technical Services Division completed MCM and Genesis databases upgrades.• GM911 Technical Services Division procured new microwave backhaul equipment to replace at the five

older tower sites.• GM911 Technical Services Division set up a group of back up talk groups to support the City of High Point

in the event their radio system fails. • GM911 Technical Services Division allowed the North Carolina VIPER radio system to co-locate at our

Triad Park tower site. • GM911 Technical Services and PSIT Divisions collaborated with US Digital Designs to begin work on

integrating automated station alerting with the Motorola system and CAD• GM911 PSIT implemented Workforce Telestaff• GM911 PSIT completed upgrades for Priority Dispatch• GM911 PSIT implemented remote work capabilities for eligible staff at Fire, Police and 911 due to the

pandemic• GM911 Training Section completed over 6,000 Public Information Requests • GM911 Emergency Communications Division was credited with 48 life saves.

Guilford Metro 911 is progressive and responsive to the needs of our agencies and community. We stand ready to fulfill our role as the “First, First Responder.” I am very proud of the many accomplishments of the staff of GM911, especially while dealing with a pandemic. Without their dedication and professionalism, GM911 would not fulfill our mission of high level customer service to the community as well as our users.

Melanie A. Neal Executive Director

DIRECTOR’S LETTER

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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

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Guilford Metro 911 2020 Annual Report

Administration DivisionMelanie Neal, Executive Director

Tykia Johnson, Administrative Fiscal Manager

Mark Shepherd, Quality Assurance Administrator

Jessica Hutchens, Emergency Communications Training Specialist

Robert Katana, Emergency Communications Training Specialist

Emergency CommunicationsDivisionChristine Moore, Emergency Communications Operations Manager

Paige Cummings, Emergency Communications Supervisor II

James Greer, Emergency Communications Supervisor II

Angela Mitchell, Emergency Communications Supervisor II

Kimberly Williams, Emergency Communications Supervisor II

Public Safety Information TechnologyDivisionGreg Nash, PSIT Manager

PeterAllison, HelpDeskServicesAnalyst

ChristaBoswell, PSIT Supervisor

CamilleBosworth, SystemAdministrator

Kristi Dean, Network Services Analyst

JohnGlosson, HelpDeskServicesAnalyst

ChanceKelly, HelpDeskServicesAnalyst

Clay Kennedy, Systems Administrator

CelesteOwens, SystemsAdministrator

Thomas Shiminsky, HelpDeskServicesAnalyst

Lori Slone, GISAnalyst

Technical Services DivisionLewis Cheatham, Technical Services Manager

Wendy Autry, Technical Services Supervisor

Andy Harvey, Electronic Process Supervisor

Tony Evans, Electronic Process Specialist

Devin Jones, Electronic Process Specialist

Carlie Luck, Systems Support Specialist

Jennifer Mallory, Work Management Technician

Stacey Wilson, Electronic Process Specialist

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

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Guilford Metro 911 2020 Annual Report

EXECUTIVE BOARD

County Manager Marty LawingGuilford County

City Manager David ParrishCity of Greensboro

911 COUNCIL

Sheriff D.H.RogersGuilford County Sheriff’sOffice

Chief Brian JamesCity of Greensboro Police Department

Chief Bobby NugentCity of Greensboro Fire Department

Director James AlbrightGuilford County EmergencyServices

USER GROUPS

Law User GroupCaptain Daryl Loftis– Chair Guilford County Sheriff’s Office

EMS User GroupShift Commander, Jeff Hutchens – Chair Guilford County EmergencyServices

Radio User Groups (RCC and TRON) Tech. Services Mgr Lewis Cheatham –Chair City of Greensboro – Guilford Metro911

Fire User GroupChief Gary McGee – ChairClimax Fire Department

GUILFORD METRO 911 BOARDS AND USER GROUPS

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Alamance Fire Department

Carelink of Cone Health Systems

City of Burlington Fire Department

City of Burlington General Government

City of Burlington Police Department

City of Greensboro Fire Department

City of Greensboro General Government

City of Greensboro Police Department

City of Thomasville

Climax Fire Department

Colfax Fire Department

Cone Health System

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

East Coast Protective Services Inc.

Fire District 13, Inc.

Fire District 28, Inc.

Gibsonville Fire Department

Greensboro Transit Authority

Guilford County Animal Control

Guilford County Dive Team

Guilford County Emergency Services

Guilford County Facilities/General Services

Guilford County Fire Marshal

Guilford County General Government

Guilford County Hazmat

Guilford County Juvenile Detention

Guilford County Parks and Recreation

Guilford County Public Health/DSS

Guilford County Security

Guilford County Sheriff

Guilford County Transportation

Guil-Rand Fire Department

GTCC Fire Curriculum

GTCC Fire Station 99

GTCC Police

High Point Regional Hospital

High Point University

Julian Fire Department

Kimesville Fire Department

McLeansville Fire Department

Mt Hope Fire Department

National Park Service

NC A & T University

NC Department of Transportation

Northeast Fire Department

Oak Ridge Fire Department

Piedmont Triad Airport Authority

Piedmont Triad Ambulance & Rescue

Pinecroft Sedgefield Fire Department

Pleasant Garden Fire Department

Southeast Fire Department

Stokesdale Fire Department

Summerfield Fire Department

University of NC - Greensboro

Whitsett Fire Department

AGENCIES WE SERVE

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NC DMV License & Theft Bureau

NC Forestry Service

NC Criminal Investigations Division

NC Department of Probation and Parole

NC Dept. of Public Safety

NC State Highway Patrol

NC Office of Emergency Medical Services

NC Office of State Fire Marshal

NC State Parks

Randolph County

Reeds Fire Department

Rockingham County

State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)

Stokes County

Thomasville Rescue

Town of Kernersville

Triad Regional Advisory Committee

Tyro Fire Department

US Courts-Probation and Parole

US Marshal Middle District

Wake County

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Wallburg Fire & Rescue

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County

US Secret Service (USSS)

Urban Search & Rescue (USAR)


Alamance County

Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE)

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)

Caswell County

City of Archdale

City of Durham

City of Fayetteville

City of High Point Fire Department

City of High Point General

Government

City of High Point Police

City of Salisbury

City of Thomasville

Denton Fire Department

Davidson County

Elon Police

Elon University

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Gibsonville Police

Hasty Fire Department

Healing Springs Fire Department

High Point University

Horneytown Fire Department

Lexington Police

Lexington Fire

Mecklenburg EMS

Midway Fire & Rescue

AGENCIES WITH INTEROPERABILITY

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The Administration Division, with 5 full-time employees, creates and manages the department goals and objectives. The division provides executive management for Guilford Metro Emergency Communications, Public Safety IT, and Technical Services divisions, including day-to-day management, project oversight, planning, and personnel management.

Administration staff is also responsible for managing and monitoring the department’s budget of $18 million dollars, including GeneralFund expenses, grant money, and revenue.

The Administration Division keeps the department informed of federal and state legislatures affecting 911 service delivery.

This division also oversees the Training and Quality Assurance Section, which is responsible for training all new Emergency Communications employees through an in-house Rookie School and providing continuing in-service training to all existing employees. The Training and Quality Assurance Section also randomly reviews calls to ensure the highest quality of service to the public and compliance with all standards regarding the call intake and dispatch process, along with public education and 911 outreach.

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TRAINING AND QUALITYASSURANCESECTION

The Quality Assurance/Training Section has a QA/Training Administrator, two (2) Emergency Communication Training Specialist , and a part-time roster employee. Altogether, the team has 80+ years of experience in the 911 and public safety system.

Credentials held by the QA/Training Team include but not limited to the following:

EMD, EFD, EPD certifications

EMD-Q, EFD-Q, EPD-Q (Quality Assurance)

Division of Criminal Information (DCI) and DCI Instructor

CPR and CPR Instructor

Emergency Telecommunicator (ETC) and ETC-Instructor

General Instructor Certification

APCO CTO Version 5 and APCO CTO Version 5 Instructor

FEMA – 100, 200, 700

Guilford Metro 911’s training curriculum meets the APCO ANS 3.103.2-2015: Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety for Public Safety Telecommunicators and is designated to carry “APCO International’s Agency Training Program Certification”. This certification validates the agency’s training curriculum to ensure it provides trainees with both the required content and focuses on the demonstration of decision and psychomotor skills cited within the standards.

GM911 is a 911 Call Center Partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) since 2012. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® is the leading nonprofit organization in the U.S. working with law enforcement, families and the professionals who serve them on issues related to missing and sexually exploited children.

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Guilford Metro 911 2020 AnnualReport 11

The Quality Assurance/Training Section is responsible for compiling and maintaining documentation to

meet the 911 communication requirements for the following:

EMD/EFD Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE)

APCO ANS 3.103.2-2015 – Training Standards for Public Safety Telecommunicators

Division of Criminal Information (DCI) – Service Agreements and Compliance

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), for (Greensboro Police and

Guilford County Sheriff’s Office)

Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), for Guilford County EMS

Insurance Services Office (ISO) for Greensboro City Fire and Guilford County Fire

This section is responsible for the training of all new Emergency Communications employees through an in-

house Rookie School, and providing continuing education on a monthly basis to all existing Emergency

Communications employees. In 2020, GM911 conducted one Rookie School with seven Emergency

Communications Specialists. Although, in-person training was limited in 2020 due to the COVID19 Pandemic,

GM911 employees received, as a whole, approximately 6,025 training hours.

Training hours accrue through In-Service Training, Rookie School, Multimedia Education, Local Administrative

Meetings, State and National Conferences, as well as on-the-job training.

Training in 2020 included, but was not limited to, the following:

Rookie School:

International Academy of Emergency Dispatch Courses: Emergency Telecommunicator Course (ETC),

Emergency Police Dispatch (EPD), Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD), Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD),

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Division of Criminal Information (DCI).

Additional training taught in-house or by other sources:

On-the-Job Training, Protocol updates and review (EMD, EPD, and EFD). TDD&TTY Operations and Text

Translation, Wellness/Fitness, and HR updates. Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), Leadership and Professional

Development, CPR, Crisis Intervention, Geography, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

(NCMEC), Customer Service, Fielding Multiple Calls for the Same Event, and Emerging Infectious Disease

Surveillance (EIDS) Tool for Coronavirus.


The QA/Training Section is the point of contact for Agency, DSS, and Public Information Requests. Preparing requests expends approximately 50-60 hours per month:

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6,065

5,558

5,300 5,400 5,500 5,600 5,700 5,800 5,900 6,000 6,100 6,200

2020

2019

Requests 2019/2020

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

1

3,7011,598

21,020

884 766

328

1,337 12

Number of Requests by Type

DSS Public (Attorney/Citizen/Media) Documents reviewed/redacted

Redacted Phone Calls Agency (Law, EMS, Fire) Radio Traffic

Unredacted Phone Calls Subpoenas


2020 Annual Training Information

Guilford Metro 911 is an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) in two call-take disciplines through the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED). Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) was achieved in 2009 and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) in 2010.

An accredited agency must meet and maintain Twenty Points of Accreditation. The 20 points range from maintaining monthly compliance levels set by the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch, to providing ongoing continuing dispatch education, and oversight committee participation, which provides guidance and approval of policies and procedures.

The Quality Assurance/Training Team must randomly audit 3% of the annual call volume for medical calls on a monthly basis and 12 fire calls per week. The center must maintain at a minimum, overall quarterly compliance levels as indicated below:

Emergency Communication Specialists receive feedback on a monthly basis. The reporting and feedback process is a crucial part of the Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement program, as it helps to enrich the services GM911 provides to the citizens and agencies in which we serve.

COMPLIANCE LEVELS 2020

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64%

24%

4%

2% 6%

EMD 2020

High Compliance Compliant

Partial Compliance Low Compliance

Non-Compliant

74%

19%

3%1% 3%

EFD 2020



Non-Compliant

52%

31%

10%

3%4%

EPD 2020



Non-Compliant

GM911 implemented Emergency Police

Dispatch (EPD) Protocols to process Law

Enforcement calls in 2018.

The QA team conducts random law call reviews

using ACE standards in all categories with the

exception of auditing 3% of the annual call

volume. Currently the QA/Training Section does

not have enough staff members to meet and

maintain this particular ACE requirement for the

EPD discipline.


PUBLIC RELATIONS

Guilford Metro 911 is dedicated to fostering strong relationships throughout the community, as well as educating the general public about 911, our organization, and other public safety topics. Through the Red E. Fox program and other outreach efforts at local schools and youth centers, GM911 staff teaches the importance of 911 to area youth. Department members from all divisions participate in various public relations events and gatherings throughout the year. This allows for members of the community, local businesses, and partner agencies to fortify bonds with GM911 in ways that cannot be achieved through other means.

2020 Public Relations Events

RACE Meetings with Moses Cone HospitalGMA MeetingsNorthern Guilford High School Public Safety ProgramGPD Chief Swearing-In Ceremony911 Goes to WashingtonCity of Greensboro Blackout Tuesday ZoomCity of Greensboro Racial Inequities in the Workplace ZoomCity of Greensboro Success and Personal Adversity ZoomIT Is For Girls CampWho Makes Up the Latino Community ZoomNOTE: GM911 participated in no PR Events in April, May, July, September, and November due to COVID-19

GM911 depends on feedback from both agencies and citizens in order to provide the best customer service in the community. We view all feedback as an opportunity for growth and evolution as a department. The tables below show a comparison of the last two years of feedback.

Commendations 2020 2019

Citizen 12 20

Other Agencies 19 20

Internal 65 35

Total 96 75

Complaints 2020 2019

Citizen 4 5

Other Agencies 31 30

Total 35 35

Founded 31 27

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Tours

o 22 Tours

o 29 Attendees

o NOTE: GM911 did not have any tours in April, May, July, Aug, September, October,

November due to COVID-19

In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, or during maintenance and upgrades, Emergency Communications employees can evacuate the Justice site and continue operations at the fully equipped backup center. GM911 has the ability for the two sites to seamlessly operate as a 44 position center or as two completely separate sites in case of disaster.

Justice Complex Primary PSAP

Meadowood Site Backup PSAP

Guilford Metro 911 Emergency Communications is a consolidated 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) serving all of Greensboro and Guilford County. The Communications Center maintains trained staff to process calls for service without prejudice and using all available resources. This division provides citizen support by answering calls for service for emergencies and non-emergencies on a 24-hour basis

During the course of the last year, the Emergency Communications Division processed 704,357 calls.

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The NC 911 Board utilizes the Emergency Call Tracking System (ECaTS), a statewide reporting systemfor the 911 industry. The ECaTS call answering reports have consistently shown GM911 as a top leaderin the state on answering 99% of calls within 10 seconds.

2020 2019 % of change

911 Calls Received 324,493 330,354 1.8% decrease

10 Digit Calls Received 194,392 210,991 7.9% decrease

Outgoing Calls 185,472 107,550 42% increase

Total Telephone Transactions 704,357 649,095 7.8% increase

General Telephone Statistics 2020 2019 % of change

Monthly average of 911 calls received 27,041 27,530 1.8% decrease

Daily average of 911 calls received 889 905 1.8% decrease

Monthly average of Wireless 911 calls received 22,448 22,184 1.2% increase

Monthly average of Residential 911 calls received 649 718 9.6% decrease

Monthly average of Business 911 calls received 906 1,208 25% decrease

Monthly average of Abandoned 911 calls received 522 1,347 61.2% decrease

Monthly average of VOIP 911 calls received 2,577 2,612 1.3% decrease

Monthly average of TTY/TDD/Text-to-911calls 172 60 65.1% increase

TELEPHONE STATISTICS

We experienced a decrease in the number of landline 911 calls. Our 911 wireless calls have increased from 80.74% to 83% of our call volume this year. The center experienced a significant decrease in abandoned calls.

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Agency2020

Total Calls2019

Total Calls% ofChange

EMS 83,614 86,178 3% decrease

Guilford Co. Fire 13,965 15,826 11.8% decrease

Guilford Co.Sheriff 62,708 70,041 10.5% decrease

Greensboro Fire 32,661 40,516 19.4% decrease

Greensboro Police 203,717 213,354 4.5% decrease

Grand Total 396,665 425,915 6.9% decrease

GM911 Emergency Communications dispatches EMS calls for all of Guilford County. Our center provides 911 dispatch and radio services for other cities, towns, and unincorporated areas in Guilford County, excluding the City of High Point. GM911 experienced an overall decrease in calls for service, with a great percentage of those being Guilford County Fire and Greensboro City Fire calls, due to their response plan changes for the COVID-19 Virus.

DISPATCH STATISTICS

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The actual staffing of the Emergency Communications Division in 2020 was 80 EmergencyCommunications Specialists (ECS). The authorized ECS staffing was 92 positions, includingsupervisors. The average vacancy per month for this year was 8 ECS positions. Seven newEmergency Communications Specialists were hired in 2020.

In 2020, twelve Emergency Communications Specialists resigned. We have ended the calendaryear with twelve vacancies.


Calendar YearAuthorized

StrengthResignations/ Terminations

% of Turnover

Experience GreaterThan

1 Year

2016 93* 11 11.83 8

2017 93* 19 20.43 15

2018 93* 4 4.3 4

2019 93* 4 4.3 4

2020 93* 12 13.9 8

* Includes Operations Manager position

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS STAFFING

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The Public Safety Information Technology (PSIT) division is responsible for research and

data analysis for multiple City and County departments. PSIT also manages special

projects and the acquisition, maintenance, and operation of all hardware and software

supporting the operations of Guilford Metro 911, Greensboro Police and Fire

departments, and an array of networks and computer systems, with the exception of

the radio system. Technologies supported by PSIT include the Computer Aided Dispatch

(CAD), 911 phones, recording system, Windows Servers, Linux Servers, Mobile

Communications Terminals (MCT) and Records Management Systems (RMS), as well as

connectivity for external agencies. PSIT also supports and maintains the GM911

website, security cameras, cellular telephony, data replication and disaster recovery

solutions, and NetMotion Mobility servers. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and

Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) maintenance is also an essential function PSIT

provides for GM911 and other agencies.

2020 was a difficult year for IT departments throughout the world. In March, many local

governments established lockdowns throughout cities across the country with an

unprecedented number of people suddenly being forced to work remotely. A limited

number of Public Safety personnel had the means to work remotely, however, a large

portion were not equipped. PSIT staff made a tremendous effort to quickly supply

qualifying Public Safety personnel with the equipment and software needed to work

remotely. The efforts of PSIT were successful and all public safety agencies were able to

operate during the initial lockdowns and beyond. Since March of 2020, PSIT has

replaced desktop PCs with laptops, supplied microphones and cameras to personnel,

trained and assisted with Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings, and expanded VPN

connectivity. Additionally, the impact of the pandemic has been significant across all

departments and PSIT is no exception. Operating in a work-from-home/onsite scenario

between quarantines and bouts with COVID, PSIT has managed to adequately support

all public safety agencies thus far in the pandemic.

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2020 Highlights

US Digital Designs Phoenix G2 Station Alerting

TrackIt Help Desk system for Police IT

Workforce Telestaff implementation

Priority Dispatch upgrades

Crowdstrike security software implementation

Implemented remote work capabilities for eligible staff at Fire, Police, and 911

Zerto Disaster Recovery upgrade

Police District 2 move to new facility

Implementation of new Windows file server to replace aging Synology storage

Replacement of aging DIMS server utilized by Police and Fire

Windows 10 upgrades from end-of-life versions to supported versions

Implementation of EIDS tool for COVID screening prior to arrival of responding agencies

TrackIt Help Desk system for Fire Logistics

IA Pro software suite upgraded

Wireless bridge replacement to GM911 auxiliary lot

Future Projects

Gunshot detection platform for Police

Asset Management platform implementation

License Plate Reader system for Police

Camera system upgrade for Police personnel at Swing Rd. and Soabar St.

RapidSOS CAD integration

Next Generation 911 enhancements and integration

Fire server migrations

SCCM endpoint implementations

Radio console upgrades

System uptime is critical for the 24/7/365 emergency operations center. PSIT strives for high availability,

steady performance, and data integrity. Excluding planned downtime, GM911’s CAD and Phone systems

uptime did not fall below 99.99% for 2020.

0

50

100

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

System Uptime Percentage

Help Desk/Work OrdersIn addition to project completion and equipment rollout, in 2020, PSIT completed well over 7000 work orders from internal and external users, with many being completed within 24 hours of submission.

GM911/Fire Closed Tickets for 2020:

GPD Closed Tickets for 2020:

*PSIT at GPD went Live with TrackIt Help Desk in 2020. Additional 374 ticketswere closed prior to going Live*



GIS

Internally, the PSIT division has GIS staff that is responsible for updating geographic information for

emergency and non-emergency responses. This data is crucial in helping to identify a caller's location and

recommending the proper response by specific agencies. This key component drives our CAD system and

allows for responders to navigate efficiently to emergencies. PSIT staff works with various agencies to

ensure that we have as current and accurate information as possible. In 2020, GIS staff made the following

significant changes:

Annexations – 39

Street Segment Additions – 667

Street Segment Edits – 32,579

Address Point Additions/Edits – 21,409

Polygon Edits – 3,904

Map Updates – 15

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The Technical Services Division of Guilford Metro 911 operates a full-service, customer owned and maintained (COAM) 800 MHz Trunked wireless radio system. We also program, support, and offer accessories for subscriber equipment.

The division strives to provide excellent customer service by producing professional results in our maintenance, repair, and programming of our radio system and end-user subscriber equipment for voice, data, emergency, and non-emergency communications.

We also provide consultation, order processing, and project management for our customers to help them best meet their needs in communications. T

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2020 was another busy year with continued installation and configuration of the P25 core and site network. System 7.17 version hardware and software optimizations and enhancements were continually performed, which are required to maximize the performance of these systems and keep the network functioning to specification. Continual software and security enhancements allow us to maintain a state of the art communications system that is both secure and robust enough to meet the needs of our public safety users. We also continued to attend national and state meetings, conferences, trainings, workshops for NC Emergency Management, FIRSTNET, APCO, NENA, MTUG, NCSIEC, NCFIRSTECH and other organizations. With the Covid19 pandemic, most of these meetings were held virtually this past year.

This year marks the end of our Migration Assurance Plan (MAP) as we finished up our final MAP project which was our Southeast tower site. The Southeast tower site has greatly enhanced our system coverage in that corner of the county and into Alamance County. Through our MAP project we have been able to fully upgrade our system to the latest industry standards of P25 compliance, increase our system RF coverage throughout the county with additional RF and data tower sites, upgrade our system security levels to fend against network attacks, enhance audio quality and strengthen the redundancy of the system.

Our users consist mainly of public safety and public works agencies on the local, state, and federal levels throughout the cities of Greensboro, High Point, Thomasville, Burlington and Winston Salem that encompasses Guilford, Alamance, Davidson, Randolph and Forsyth Counties.


A&T Unv., 84

Burlington, 488

Carelink , 35

Cone Health, 42DEA, 60

Greensboro, 2,736

GTCC, 79

Guilford County, 2,342

High Point Reg. Hosp., 3

High Point Unv., 104

NCDOT, 71

NPS, 18

PTAA, 62PTAR, 56

Thomasville, 331 UNCG, 85

Guilford Metro 911 2020 AnnualReport26

The Technical Services Division delivers ongoing management and assistance with projects and daily

operations to both internal and external customers. Outstanding customer service and efficiency is always at

the top of the priority list for our division. Below are just some of the completed projects for 2020, as well as a

few of our future projects.

2020 Projects

• Collaboration with USDD for the installation of the new Fire Alerting System that utilizes our house set

setup for automated alerting redundancy for the entire City of Greensboro Fire Dept.

• Completion of our new Southeast tower site on Dusty Road in Liberty

• Continued radio codeplug building and programming for changes to the High Point and Thomasville

Radio Systems to maintain interoperability

• Continued alignment and optimization of radios to manufacturer specifications for safety and

optimum performance

• MCM database upgrades

• Procurement of the latest software platform for our MCM database (Motiondeck)

• Genesis database upgrades

• Continued agreement with Motorola for system maintenance and SUA

• Continued maintenance of the City of Thomasville’s public safety and non-public safety radio system

and radio units

• Setup of several additional talk group patches for direct communications for surrounding agencies

• Allowance and setup of backup talk groups to support the City of High Point in the event that their

radio system fails

• Setup and configuration of units for Graham Police and Graham Fire in anticipation of them joining our

system January 2021

• Setup and configuration of units for Alamance Community College in anticipation of interoperability

with our system users January 2021

• Procurement of new microwave backhaul for our five older tower sites

• Co-location of North Carolina VIPER radio system at our Triad Park tower site

Future Projects

• Adding customers to GM911 Regional Network

• Upgrading our MCM database to Motiondeck

• GPS location services for radios

• Genesis Database Upgrades

• Ability to connect our P25 system to other P25 systems

• Public Safety Grade Wireless LTE Data (FIRSTNET)

• Continued Radio Codeplug Building and Programming for users to maintain interoperability

• Continue to Install modern security camera systems at tower sites

• Continue pursuit of Radio Management System to move toward wireless radio programming

• Continued alignment and optimization of field radios to manufacturer specification for optimum

performance and user safety

• Training to assist with ever changing R56 standards compliance

• Update Conventional backup Repeaters to a new platform

• Upgrade our five older tower sites to newer microwave backhaul

• Replace current console dispatching equipment with the latest technology (MCC 7500E)

• Continue support for the City of Thomasville’s radio system’s maintenance and subscriber

alignments for optimum performance and user safety

• System upgrade from 7.17 to A2020 platform

Guilford Metro 911 2020 Annual Report 27

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Guilford Metro 911 prides itself on being able to support the community and provide asafer place for citizens to live, work, and enjoy. Employees are recognized throughout theyear for their hard work and dedication to service and community. Without their supportand diligence, the department would not be what it is — a center of excellence.


Telecommunicatorof the Year

Nicole Childress

Rookieof the Year

Leslie Rhodes

Support Personof the Year

Steven Harvell

Master Telecommunicator Achievement Award

Jeri Phillips

Michael Huntoon

ACE Award

Nicole Childress – EFD, EPDPaige Cummings – EFD, EPD

Kellie Zimmerman – EFD, EPDTracye Hall – EMD

Michael Taylor – EPDGregory Cobb – EFD

Kristina Shaver – EPDMichael Justin Davis – EFD

Breana Edwards – EPDRay Kivett – EFD

Chris Champagne – EMDCharlena Hogue – EPD

Jennifer Batson – EFD, EPDCheryl Hodges – EFD

Alexandra Carroll – EPDCasey Grant – EPD

Corrie Wagoner – EFD, EPDJames Gemperline – EPDJustin Jones – EFD, EMD

Shanice Scott – EFD, EPDJustin Sugalski – EPD

Yolanda Graham – EPDChristina Miller – EPDMichelle Miller – EPD

Mindy Medford – EMDMisty Ritchie – EFD

Evelyn Kabler – EFD, EPDJeri Phillips – EFD, EPD

John Fanning – EPDKenya Kitchel – EPD

Kimberly Williams – EMD

2020 Life Saving Awards

Bernadette Ngetich – x4Robin Grassi – x3Dana Hall – x3Jennifer BatsonWilliam DanielRobin ManessBreanna Edwards – x2Jessica Eason – x3Stay WallaceKellie ZimmermanAshley HandTammy MatherlyJames GemperlineKristina ShaverCassie Jobe – x2Michael HuntoonJeffery HarrisonJanecia Harris – x4Sheila MayoMichael Justin DavisChris ChampagneHeather LeQuireJames GreerAlina SimmonsLeslie RhodesKenya KitchelGregory CobbCorrie WagonerAngela MitchellBobby WestmorelandPaige CummingsSunserey WilsonCindy LittleCasey Grant

Performance Standard Awards

EMD

James Gemperline

EFD

James Gemperline

John Fanning

Kenya Kitchel

Kris Riley

Matthew Wall

2020 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATOR WEEK AWARD RECIPIENTS

AW

AR

DS

AN

D R

EC

OG

NIT

ION

S

For more information about Guilford Metro 911 and the material in this report, please contact our Administrative Office at 336-373-2933 or visit us at www.greensboro-nc.gov

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