Jefferson City and Cole County officials are looking at a potential new mass emergency notification system.
At a Jefferson City Council Budget Committee meeting earlier this month, 4th Ward Councilman Carlos Graham made a motion to add $26,000 for a Police Department emergency notification system, which was listed on a pink sheet, meaning it was an unfunded request. Though the motion was approved unanimously, at a following committee meeting, the request was defeated by a 5-4 vote.
The requested system would allow the department to send notifications of pending severe weather or other emergency circumstances, as a redundant option to the severe weather sirens. The current sirens are for outdoor use only, and the Police Department regularly receives concerns from the community the alerts cannot be heard indoors.
Capt. Eric Wilde said the system could be used in any number of events, including water main breaks and crime alerts.
"This would give us another opportunity to broadcast things as far as crime alerts," Wilde said, noting the police currently have two mechanisms to alert people of events - the outdoor warning sirens and media releases.
Wilde said the web-based system would allow the department to communicate with subscribers of the service or those within a defined radius of a specific event.
"There are a lot of capabilities with it," Wilde said.
Police Chief Roger Schroeder said the $26,000 is an estimate and it would be an annual expense. At the last budget committee meeting, he said the department could try to get a firm commitment from the Cole County Commission to help fund the system. Officials would prefer it be implemented countywide, noting many other Central Missouri counties and cities are already using similar systems.
"We're kind of in catch-up mode," Schroeder said. "It's very important."
The request failed to be put in the committee's version of the 2017 draft budget for Jefferson City. Several council members and Mayor Carrie Tergin noted it's more an issue of timing and making sure any other potential commitments from other agencies are lined up first. The draft budget could still be changed before the full Jefferson City Council approves it.
At a Tuesday budget meeting of the Cole County Commission, Emergency Management Director Bill Farr said this system has been put in place in Boone, Callaway and Osage counties. If the city would move to purchase the system, the county would be asked to pay half the cost and could discuss the proposal at a later meeting.