LINN — At the quarterly 911 Advisory Committee meeting last Wednesday, Director Ron Hoffman opened by noting the dispatch center is fully staffed. He introduced the newest hire, saying, “This is Luis Reyes. He’s our new dispatcher that’s already certified and on the console.” 

Not every recent hire made it through training. Hoffman told the committee, “I did hire three other dispatchers, and then let them go. They’re good people, but they just weren’t cut out to be dispatch, you know, so nothing bad on them. But I did hire Lucretia Talbert from Belle. She started Monday.”

With turnover and training still landing on one person, Hoffman said they continue sending out online quizzes and weekly proficiencies while exploring additional options to strengthen dispatcher readiness.

The Highway Patrol’s recent TAC audit scored the center at 98%, which he credited to the staff member Colet Davis, who manages that system.

Since the previous quarterly meeting, the center handled 5,918 calls for service. There were no text-to-911 entries, though one caller submitted a video of a UTV fire through RapidSOS. Hoffman told the group the video showed “that puppy was a big fire” and suspected a fuel leak was involved. “He lost all his ammo,” Hoffman added.

Hoffman said mapping has remained stable during the county’s preparation for the NG911 upgrade. Dispatch is now logged into EZInet — “which is different than ESRI net,” Hoffman said — and address adjustments have been minimal lately.

Hoffman also worked through the ongoing phone system changes tied to the NG911 project. A required interface box from Solacom arrived from France after customs delays.

Progress on NG911 infrastructure has been uneven. AT&T’s fiber-related work stalled for two and a half months until state-level pressure finally moved the project forward. Hoffman said, “They must have lit a fire, because now they want to be here tomorrow.”

The county’s CAD upgrade continues to consume time and patience. After months of meetings with CentralSquare, Hoffman estimated the system is “about 80% complete,” but said the remaining work involves fine-tuning law and fire question sets and resolving ongoing GIS confusion. Training for dispatchers begins next week, with additional sessions continuing into December.

Hoffman said his office has already received approximately 20 months of historical data on a flash drive from SOMA Global, so the company will only have to provide a few months of additional records after the switch to Central Square. Sheriff Michael Bonham reported his office’s smaller data transition, explaining that they converted a few months of SOMA records to paper when switching back to CrimeStar. The 911 side still needs to test how quickly call history can be retrieved under the new configuration.

Equipment updates ranged from inconvenient to expensive. Headsets used in dispatch are being discontinued, though Hoffman has spare units for now. The new recorder — purchased with NG911 grant funds — is already installed and captures audio from all county lines.

Budget concerns surfaced, as Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin warned of potential loss of tax revenue if voters adopt the tax freeze outlined in Senate Bill 3.

Hoffman highlighted the county’s strong performance during Sept. 16’s Callaway County drill, where ham-radio components received praise from FEMA evaluators. He also briefed the committee on cybersecurity concerns raised at the state emergency management conference. One takeaway was the emerging threat of AI-generated misinformation. Hoffman said, “We’re not going to download any AI stuff on our computers, because it learns from it, and I don’t want it sending out misinformation.”

Public education efforts came up briefly, including career day visits and the possibility of 911 setting up booths at upcoming holiday events. When asked if they could participate, Hoffman replied, “You know what? There’s no reason we couldn’t.”

The council will meet again on Feb. 4, 2026.