“Its an invaluable hub that holds all the emergency services together,” Salyer said.


During 911 calls, the system automatically maps the quickest route to the location of the emergency and displays caller information such as a phone number and street address.


“Whenever we answer the phones for 911, the first thing out of our mouths as dispatchers is ‘911, where’s your emergency?’ to get a location,” Salyer said, “because, if for some reason the person can’t talk to us, at least we have somewhere to send help.”


Automatic mapping ensures the location as soon as the call comes in. Salyer said the system is equipped to track the location of cell-phone callers, but not very accurately yet. He said as cellular tower technology increases, the tracking system would become more accurate.


Both stations also have a computer screen for telephone speed-dials – one-click shortcuts to call other law enforcement agencies, ambulances and officers’ cell phones. Salyer said dispatchers will eventually use wireless headsets for hands-free operation.


A third screen is used to look up criminal histories, driver’s licenses and browse databases. Basin and Lovell dispatch will be able to share information and compare crimes/calls from inside Lovell and in the rest of the county. The contract-maintenance company, Com-Tech, is still working out mapping connectivity issues between Basin and Lovell, Salyer said.


Having dual identical dispatch stations at the annex allows for a larger volume of calls and provides a backup call center location for the Sheriff’s Office.


“If something happens and one of the dispatch centers has to shut down, we have the ability to keep going. We don’t have to rely on a separate county to hopefully take our calls for us,” Salyer said. “We have it really sweet here in Big Horn County.”


Lovell and Basin dispatchers went through a training program for the new system. Salyer and others from Basin attended a further training given by a Plant CML representative to learn how to customize the system for each station’s specific needs.


“Basin’s dispatchers and our dispatchers were trained at the same time on the same system,” Salyer said. “We can rely on each other a little bit more.”


The Lovell Annex also recently acquired a new backup generator to replace an older generator and a second trailer-mounted generator to provide portable emergency power. The generators were also paid for, in part, by the Homeland Security grant.


The previous generator would only provide enough power for one computer, a single overhead light and the dispatch radio. The new generator is powerful enough to run the entire dispatch area of the building and a back room emergency operation center, Salyer said. A trailer-mounted version of the generator is available for use in a variety of emergency situations in faraway places.


The system also added a large battery backup in the basement of the annex to keep everything running while the building transitions to generator power during an outage.


The price for the systems in Basin and Lovell, including mapping systems, hardware, software and a five-year warranty totaled $282,357. A $217,000 enterprise fund was approved in the county’s FY 2006-07 budget. The remainder costs, not expected to exceed 4300,000 after the addition of a service contract, will be covered in the FY 2007-08 budget, according to the commissioners’ minutes. 


Six phone lines are installed at the annex, four for Wyoming calls and two dedicated for Montana calls. The previous setup had two 911 lines that would rollover to administrative phone lines when necessary.


Lovell Police Chief Nick Lewis said the new system is a great improvement from the old system – essentially a caller ID, Rolodex, radio and phone book – to ensure that emergency services get to those who need them as quickly as possible. He said the new setup is “light-years ahead” of the old system.


Sheriff Ken Blackburn agreed that both dispatch centers working together would be beneficial and make databases complete and more useful.


Blackburn informed county residents that officials will be out verify addresses for the countywide reverse-911 system.
Salyer started out as a part-time dispatcher for the LPD in 1994 and stayed with it because he enjoyed the job and liked helping people. He said the dispatch center has undergone a number of upgrades in the past, but this is the most significant upgrade he’s seen.


“Our availability to do our job now is so much better than it was just a year ago,” Salyer said.


The Lovell Police Dept. is currently looking for a part-time dispatcher to bring the center to full staff, with three full-timers and six part-time dispatchers. Anyone interested should contact the Lovell Police Dept. for an application.