ALBION —
Officials from Orleans County’s government, law enforcement and emergency management departments met with Congresswoman Kathy Hochul, D-Amherst, Friday to discuss a bill that would enhance texting capabilities in 911 dispatch centers.
Hochul’s A.L.E.R.T. Act would initially require telecommunications companies to send a “message not received” message to cell phone users who send text messages to 911 dispatch centers. Local dispatch centers, including the Orleans County Dispatch in Albion, do not currently have the technology to receive texts, picture messages or videos.
The act would also use a portion of the Department of Homeland Security’s emergency preparedness fund to help local dispatch centers upgrade their technology capabilities in order to receive text messages. Hochul said the upgrades were necessary in a culture where cell phone users sending an average of 100 texts per day.
“We’ve had events in our area where texts were sent but not received,” Hochul said. “There was a shooting near a school in Monroe County, and students sent dozens of texts to 911 that weren’t received.”
Hochul said she wants a pilot program to upgrade text receiving readiness in Western New York, a move that has local support. Legislature Chairman David Callard said the board will move to pass a resolution in support of the A.L.E.R.T. Act.
“This would be a good area for the pilot program,” Callard said. “Texting seems like where 911 communications will go in the future.”
Hochul indicated that further upgrades that would allow dispatch centers to receive picture messages and videos could come later.
District Attorney Joe Cardone said the technological improvements would make emergency services more accessible to the disabled. Allowing texts would also benefit those in situations where a spoken phone conversation could compromise their safety.
It could also cut down on the number of calls in to the dispatch center. Emergency Management Director Paul Wagner said the dispatch center is seeing an increase in calls per incident. Reading texts would be easier than having a conversation.
Hochul said she’s working to get the New York delegation behind the legislation ahead of a bigger push to forward the act in Congress — where Hochul said the push to cut spending has it’s consequences.
“There is a strong sentiment in Congress to control spending, but we have representatives who are voting against FEMA funding when their states are being hit by earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes,” Hochul said. “I’m for cutting spending, but there are better places to cut.”
The congresswoman said she’d like to cut into funding for foreign infrastructure projections like the $7 billion Hochul said is spent for roads in Pakistan.
That money could be better spent on infrastructure in Orleans County, Hochul said.
“The government has an important role to play here,” Hochul said. “Orleans County has seven times the national average for bridges in need to repair.”
Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt said many of those bridges are state owned, with funding cuts allowing for repairs to only two state-owned bridges in the county. The magnitude of the bridge issue wasn’t lost on Hochul, who said she’s discussed the problem with Gov. Cuomo; and county officials, who noted the preponderance of local bridges.
“We have a lot of streams here running towards the lake,” Legislator Kenneth Rush told Hochul. “The state alone has 57 bridges in the county.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Congresswoman Kathy Hochul, center, spoke with representatives from the Orleans County government, law enforcement and emergency management Friday about a bill to enhance texting capabilities in 911 dispatch centers. Pictured are, from clockwise from bottom left, Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt, Emergency Management Director Paul Wagner, County Sheriff Scott Hess, Undersheriff Steve Smith, Hochul, Legislature Chairman David Callard, Legislator Donald Allport, Legislator Kenneth Rush and District Attorney Joe Cardone. Jim Krencik/STAFF
Discussion
Hochul talks texts with local officials
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