The Price of Staying Ready

Moore County’s 911 board approves $22,000 TACN-centric radio project while weighing larger funding questions

7:51 a.m. July 7, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Moore County’s 911 system has a rural paging problem, and the Emergency Communications Board voted Monday night to fix it before missed tone-outs become a bigger risk for first responders.

The board met Monday, July 6, and approved spending up to $22,000 to install base radios at four outlying fire halls. The goal is to keep fire and EMS radio channels active in rural parts of the county so responders are more likely to receive tone-outs when dispatch sends a call.

Voting yes were interim Chair Belinda Smith, Jayson Estfon, Marge Gammill, Chris Morton, and Nancy Primus. Linda Wolaver was absent for the vote but arrived later in the meeting.

Metro Moore County Public Safety Director Jason Deal said the issue involves how the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network, or TACN, handles radio traffic when no active radio is listening on a channel in a particular tower area.

“The way those towers work is there’s nobody out there in Charity with a radio on the fire channel when the tones go out,” Deal told the board. “So that tower basically says, ‘Hey, there’s nobody out here listening.’”

That matters in a rural county where volunteer firefighters and EMS responders may be at home, at work, or driving through an outlying area when a call comes in. If the tone-out does not reach them, the response can be delayed.

The fix approved Monday places base radios at four rural fire halls. Each site would receive radio equipment, a power supply, antenna, coax, and related installation needed to keep those channels active. Deal estimated the cost at roughly $5,300 to $5,500 per station.

The radios are expected to help keep four outlying tower areas active: Hawthorne Hill near Highway 231, Rippy Ridge near Highway 41A, AEDC at Arnold Air Force Base, and Keith Springs Mountain.

Cheaper than a tower-site fix

Deal told the board the fire hall radio plan is a much less expensive workaround than installing dedicated channel equipment at the tower sites themselves.

That larger option could cost $75,000 to $100,000 per tower site, or roughly $400,000 overall, Deal said. The fire hall approach was recommended as a way to solve the immediate problem without forcing Moore County into a much larger infrastructure expense.

“This was TACN’s technician’s way of saying, ‘Hey, this is what you need to do to fix our problem for now until it becomes an issue later on, if it ever becomes an issue,’” Deal said.

For now, the expectation is that the added radios will keep the necessary fire and EMS channels live in the areas where coverage has been less consistent. If Moore County’s radio traffic grows significantly in the future, Deal said the county may have to revisit whether a more permanent tower-site solution is needed.

The discussion also underscored how dependent modern emergency response is on technology most residents never see. A 911 call moves through a network of dispatch consoles, radios, towers, mapping tools, software, backups, and maintenance contracts.

When one piece does not work cleanly, the whole response chain can feel it.

A careful budget, but costly systems

The board also reviewed the district’s finances and closed out a year shaped by Moore County’s TACN radio project.

Deal said the district’s final TACN-related payment was about $385,000. That expense pushed the board into its fund balance for the year, but without the TACN project, normal operations would have ended with more than $117,000 in net income.

The district receives about $323,000 a year through the state 911 distribution. It also earns interest on certificates of deposit and occasionally receives excess state revenue distributed through the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board.

Those numbers helped Moore County finish in better shape than officials once expected. Deal said the district did not have to draw down reserves as deeply as originally feared when the TACN project was planned.

Still, he warned that technology costs are catching up with rural 911 districts.

The 911 district is responsible for equipment and systems that age quickly and cost heavily to replace. Deal pointed to cybersecurity, translation services, RapidSOS, GPS tools, video capability, radios, computer-aided dispatch, and phone systems as examples of costs that have grown as emergency communications have become more advanced.

“It’s the rural counties that are having trouble keeping up with technology,” Deal said.

The board projected it could continue rebuilding its fund balance in the coming budget year if revenues and expenses hold close to expectations. But board member Estfon cautioned that one major replacement could quickly change that picture.

• ALSO: Moore County to lose $90K for 911 after Lee veto

Phone system could become next major expense

One of the higher looming costs is the 911 center’s phone system.

The system handles 911 calls, administrative calls, and the dispatch console connections used inside the communications center. Deal said the system is now in its sixth year and beyond its original five-year agreement, leaving Moore County on year-to-year maintenance.

A rough estimate to replace or upgrade the system came in around $300,000 for three dispatch positions, Deal said.

“Eventually we’re going to have to pull the trigger and decide what we’re going to do with our phone system in the future,” Deal said.

The board discussed whether the district should replace its current system, consider a state-hosted cloud phone system, or look at a broader package that could combine phone and dispatch software.

A state-hosted option could reduce the local replacement burden, but Deal said it would also mean giving up about $12,000 a year in state revenue – roughly $4,000 per dispatch position. Other counties have moved to that model and received equipment upgrades through the state system, but no decision was made Monday.

Dispatch software raises concern

The board also discussed ongoing frustrations with ISOMS, the county’s computer-aided dispatch and records system.

Deal said the system has advantages for the law enforcement records side. Deputies can use it for reports, photos, driver’s license information, tag information, and other records work.

But dispatchers have struggled with parts of the workflow inside the 911 center.

“There are just little hiccups with the dispatch side of it that make them uncomfortable,” Deal said.

The most serious concern involved address verification.

Under the previous dispatch system, dispatchers could enter an address and see whether it appeared to be a valid Moore County location. The system used color-coded indicators to help show whether an address matched county data, appeared questionable, or needed more review.

Deal said ISOMS does not currently give dispatchers that same clear distinction because the system is also used for jail and records work. Not everyone entered into the records system lives in Moore County, so the address field is broader than what dispatchers need during an emergency call.

That creates risk in a border county where road names, address patterns, and nearby communities can overlap.

Deal described a recent example in which an address appeared to fit Moore County’s general road and numbering pattern but was actually in Bedford County. The mistake was caught before the wrong response was sent, but the example showed why dispatchers want stronger address validation built into the workflow.

“When you’re tied up on that one call, you’re trying to focus on getting help to them as soon as possible,” Deal said. “You need that system to tell you whether or not this address is mine or not.”

The board also heard that a National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, connection through ISOMS has been down for months. Because of that, dispatchers have had to run information through a separate system and manually enter details back into ISOMS.

That does not stop dispatch from functioning, but it slows the process, especially when dispatchers have to check multiple driver’s licenses, tags, or individuals during a busy call.

The board did not vote to replace ISOMS. Members noted that the system was purchased recently and cost about $47,000 to implement. Instead, the discussion focused on documenting the biggest dispatch-side problems and pushing for fixes.

County cost-sharing may return to the table

Monday’s meeting also reopened a larger question: how much of the cost of the Emergency Operations Center should fall on the 911 district?

The current arrangement dates back to the period when dispatch moved out of the jail and into the current emergency communications facility. At the time, Moore County continued paying dispatcher salaries, while the 911 board took on building and location-related costs.

Deal said that move solved a real problem. Dispatchers had been working inside the jail, where they were also tied into correctional responsibilities. Moving dispatch out of the jail separated those duties and reduced risk.

But the building now serves more than one purpose. It houses 911 operations, but it also supports EMS, EMA, training, meetings, and other county public-safety uses.

Deal said the county may need to revisit whether some of those shared expenses should be divided differently.

“I was going to start at some of the utilities,” Deal said, describing a possible conversation with county government about splitting costs for electricity, gas, and other shared expenses.

He said even a partial split would help. The district paid about $15,000 in electric bills this year, according to the discussion.

“It’s not going to be a lot of money,” Deal said. “But it puts a little bit of money back to go toward equipment.”

No formal request was made to the Metro Council on Monday. But board members discussed preparing a clearer proposal before the next county budget cycle. One possible starting point would be asking the county to share some utility or building-related costs tied to EMS, EMA, and shared use of the facility.

The timing matters. County budget work typically begins in late winter or early spring. Board members discussed having a request ready by December so council members could understand the issue before budget season begins.

Several members also said it may help to have a Metro Council representative connected to the 911 board again. In earlier years, a council member often served on county committees so Metro government had someone familiar with the work before major budget or policy decisions came forward.

That idea may return after the August election and the seating of the next council.

Other business

• The board also reviewed an emergency equipment purchase made over the July Fourth weekend after dispatch headset equipment failed.

Two wireless headset units had problems, and replacement parts for the model were discontinued. Deal ordered three replacement headsets for about $1,500 total, restoring both dispatch consoles and leaving one spare available. The board accepted the emergency nature of the purchase.

• Members also reviewed early quotes for parking lot sealing and building pressure washing but took no final action.

One quote for resealing and patching the parking lot came in at about $2,372. Another set of quotes for washing the buildings ranged from about $750 to $1,000, with separate pricing discussed for concrete. With the radio project already approved, members noted that even routine building work can add up quickly.

• The board also continued its review of bylaws and membership. One idea was to create a non-voting dispatcher liaison or advisory role, giving dispatchers a direct way to explain workflow issues and technology concerns without adding another voting member.

No final changes to the bylaws were adopted Monday. The board is expected to continue that review at a future meeting.

A front-line public-safety cost

The $22,000 fire hall radio project addresses an immediate weakness in rural paging. But Monday’s meeting pointed to larger decisions still ahead.

A phone system replacement could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dispatch software may need improvement or eventual replacement. Shared building costs may need to be renegotiated. State 911 funding could also change depending on future studies and legislation.

For now, the board is trying to stay ahead of those pressures one fix at a time.

Monday’s meeting made clear that 911 technology is no longer a quiet background expense. In Moore County, it has become a front-line public-safety cost.