The City of Prince George is applying for a $100,000 grant that would help it modernize its 911 dispatch system after getting approval from city council at its Wednesday, April 24 meeting.
The Union of BC Municipalities is disbursing a total of $60 million provided by the provincial government to help local governments transition to next-generation 911 systems and comply with a mandate from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to update basic 911 services across the country.
While the deadline for that transition was originally set for March 4, 2025, the CRTC has extended it to March 31, 2027 as many regions have not yet made the transition.
Staff explained at the Wednesday, April 24 council meeting that the city intends to update the mobile computer-aided-dispatch systems on its fleet of fire response vehicles.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is preparing to take over 911 dispatch duties for itself and the Nechako, Cariboo and Kitimat-Stikine regional districts starting in 2026 and has selected a company called Hexagon to provide the needed software.
The difference between basic and next generation 911, a report from staff said, is that the latter can process all kinds of emergency calls and multimedia information, can deliver those calls to the appropriate responders, acquires additional call information that may be helpful in routing calls and supports data and video communications between responders.
At the April 23 meeting, IT services manager Luke Reid said the next generation services also improve reliability and security.
While the UBCM grant program has been around prior to this year, it was updated this march to include mobile computer-aided-dispatch systems.
Previously, staff’s report said, the city had planned to phase in the implementation of the next generation systems over several years.
Getting the funds through the grant program would speed up the timeline and reduce the city’s financial burden. If successful, the $100,000 would outfit 10 fire vehicles with the necessary equipment, including tablets.
The request for $100,000 is the maximum allowed under the project. If successful, Prince George would have two years to complete the project.
Approval for the grant application passed unanimously.
