COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Dispatchers at the Hamilton County Communications Center stand ready to take calls from people in need 24/7, and the operations all rely on technology to ensure first responders get the information they need and can find callers easily.
Those dispatchers include veterans like Rick Steinhauser, who has been taking calls at dispatch centers for six years.
"It's never the same thing," Steinhauser said. "Every call is different."
He said the team at Hamilton County Dispatch has been dedicated to helping others. Steinhauser said that commitment is important because, in moments of crisis, they're the first to know.
"Before the police get there, before the medics get there, before the fire department gets there, and it feels good those moments where you really help somebody," he said.
The system isn't perfect, however.
Communications director Andrew Knapp said the center is based on rapidly aging analog technology.
"It is a constant struggle to constantly keep up with technology," Knapp said.
He said nearly $46,000,000 in new funding over a biennium considered by the Ohio Legislature could change that.
The money has been earmarked for counties to upgrade to what's known as Next Generation 911, a digital system allowing for greater location tracking, call volume control, the sharing of pictures and video with dispatch centers and more.
"A lot of times people say, 'Well why is it that Uber can find me, but 911 cannot?' That all comes down to the quality of the data," Knapp said.
Kyle Petty, managing director of policy for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, applauded the funding's inclusion in a House spending bill.
"This funding the house put into the budget bill is really historic," Petty said. "This is going to give us a really good starting point."
Petty said the systems would be continually maintained by funds raised from a 64-cent fee on all telecommunications or internet bills helping rural counties level the playing field with urban counties and raising the bar for all.
"The better technology we have, the faster, the quicker, the more detail we have in order to get help to someone, and it's critical," Steinhauser said. "Seconds matter."
The appropriations bill will have to pass both the Ohio House and Senate before review by Gov. Mike DeWine.
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