Dodge County OK's emergency system

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 12:14 PM CST

JUNEAU - The Dodge County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the purchase of a countywide, high-speed telephone emergency communication system.

Money for the equipment will come through a grant with public health and preparedness funding, according to Emergency Management Director Joe Meagher.

Funding for the service, $25,000 a year, is provided for the next two years, Meagher said.

But questions were raised about funding the program in future years.

An amendment to the resolution was approved, requiring a comprehensive study be completed after 18 months of the program.

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Supervisor Robert Ballweg of Beaver Dam, who proposed the amendment, said with technology advances, the program may be changed within two years. He requested the report be completed six months before the funding for the program expires.

"I look at it as saving a life for at least the next two years," Meagher said about the two-year funding. "It is well worth it for two year with the grant funding," the director said. After that, the program may have to be scaled back, he said.

"Grant funding is questionable from day to day," Meagher said. "We will try to make it happen.

"(The emerency notification system) is the notification of citizens throughout the county of any type of natural or manmade disaster," Meagher said. "The program can notify numerous people in a short time frame," he said.

For the next two years at least, "Dodge County will have the fastest, most accurate emergency warning system available," Meagher said in a special presentation to the board.

The automated phone calling system can inform the county's 85,000 residents of emergencies, such as flooding, road closures, power outages or epidemics, within 45 to 60 minutes. Approximately 1,000 voice messages can be made a minute with the system.

The program approved by the board on a 30-4 vote, was developed by Code Red Emergency Communications of Ormond Beach, Fla., in 1996. It was developed as an Internet based system and is currently in use by 6,000 municipalities across the United States, including St. Paul, Minn., Denver, Colo., and Jacksonville, Fla.

In Wisconsin, five counties, including Columbia, Walworth, Green, Kenosha and Kewaunee have the system.

"There is no hardware, software or phone lines for the county to maintain," Meagher said. The firm owns, operates and maintains all of the calling infrastructure, he added.

Meagher said hopefully in two years other departments, such as highway, will be on board with the system and provide funding to keep it operational.

The county received three proposals for the equipment, with the lowest bidder being Code Red Emergency Communications of Ormond Beach at a bid of $50,000.

In other business, the board reappointed Patrick Schoebel as Dodge County medical examiner for a one-year term, from Jan. 5, 2009, to Jan. 3, 2010.

Robert Ballweg was appointed a member of the revolving loan advisory committee and Earl Anderson was appointed a member of the Veterans Service Commission.

A resolution to amend the town of Clyman zoning ordinance was approved, along with several ordinance changes to the land use code, the code of ordinances and Dodge County Year 2030 Comprehensive Plan.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article referred to the county's emergency notification system as “Reverse 911.” That is incorrect. The name “Reverse 911” is a trademarked name of PlantCML of Temecula, Calif.