Statewide—Twenty-nine PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) across Indiana will benefit from a $2.8M Federal Grant to enhance their 911 Equipment.
The purpose of the 911 Grant Program, provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is to provide Federal funding to support the transition of PSAPs and their interconnecting 911 network and core services, to facilitate migration to a digital, IP-enabled emergency network, and adoption and operation of NG911 services and applications.
The grant is a 60/40 match where the PSAPs will be required to pay 40% of their project cost while the other 60% is covered by the grant funding.
Treasurer Kelly Mitchell, chair of the Statewide 911 Board, commented, “I am pleased that these counties are able to utilize these grant funds to improve their critical services to Hoosiers. Their work is much appreciated.”
Indiana PSAPs submitted sub-grant applications to the Statewide 911 Board who is administering the funds for the state of Indiana. These applications were reviewed by a committee and then submitted to NHTSA for final approval.
Executive Director, Ed Reuter said, “The 911 Grant Program will aid 1/3 of Indiana counties with the financial cost of upgrading the 911 equipment in their PSAPs. The grant provided the opportunity for many of these counties to purchase the necessary upgrades that they may not otherwise have been able to afford. These upgrades will have a significant impact on 911 services across the state.”
Of the 29 PSAPs who were approved for funding, 7 were local to southeastern Indiana including:
Bartholomew County 911 Emergency Operations Center
Dearborn County Communications
Decatur County Communications
Fayette County Communications
Jefferson County 911 Communications
Ripley County 911 Communications
Shelby County Sheriff Department
