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St. Lawrence County slated to receive $200,279 for emergency response operations

Posted 8/20/18

St. Lawrence County will receive $200,279 in support of emergency response dispatch operations under a bill recently signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Statewide, $10 million in 2018-2019 grant funds will …

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St. Lawrence County slated to receive $200,279 for emergency response operations

Posted

St. Lawrence County will receive $200,279 in support of emergency response dispatch operations under a bill recently signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Statewide, $10 million in 2018-2019 grant funds will allow municipalities in 57 counties and New York City to make improvements to their 911 response and emergency service dispatch operations.

The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services through the Public Safety Answering Points Operations Grant will administer the funding.

Public safety facilities, known as Public Safety Answering Points, receive incoming calls for help and initiate dispatching of emergency services, according to the announcement. Throughout the state, counties provide the majority of 911 answering and dispatching operations, and coordinate the services among municipal, county, and state responders. The annual PSAPs grant allows for state reimbursement to counties for eligible public safety call-taking and dispatching expenses. All counties and the New York City are eligible to apply to receive grant funds, and all chose to participate in the program this year.

These funds can also foster upgrades in call-taking and dispatching technology and investing in new services such as text messaging, data communication, and improved geo-location for emergency response.

These grants are non-competitive and formula-based, distributed among participating counties based on statistics reflective of a county's operational scope, demographic factors, and emergency services call metrics.