GILROY—Gilroy’s 9-1-1 emergency communications system will get a nearly $300,000 state-of-the-art overhaul at no cost to the city.
The state of California will pay for the upgrade through its Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) funding, which helps local jurisdiction transition from legacy to modern emergency call systems.
In Gilroy’s case, the funds will pay for new phone consoles, workstations, backroom equipment and maintenance every five years, Gilroy Police Department Capt. Joseph Deras said.
“It’s a next-generation system poised to accept text messages and photographs from callers,” he said.
The Gilroy City Council unanimously approved the transfer of $298,930 in state funding to the city’s coffers at the May 18 meeting.
Five workstations and equipment needed to tie the phones into the emergency communications network will be installed under the program.
Deras said the upgrade is much needed; the last time the city saw installation of new 9-1-1 equipment was five years ago, he said. The state’s PSAP funding also paid for that upgrade, Deras added.
The state selected Rhode Island-based Carousel Industries of North America and Temecula-based Airbus DS Communications as the vendors of for public safety communications system upgrades, according to the police captain.
