Fire Chief James R. St. John
At a November luncheon hosted by Auburn University at Montgomery’s Center for Government, the City of Vestavia Hills was awarded the 2013 Innovative Alabama Governments Award for E-911 procurement with Shelby County 911. The City approached Shelby County 911 and implementation began in the fall of 2012.
The decision to shift the delivery of emergency communication services to an outside agency presented the City and Shelby County 911 with a myriad of challenges, which were mitigated with precise planning, exhaustive testing and a spirit of cooperation.
“The police had the biggest roles in overcoming obstacles,” Fire Chief James R. St. John said.
Since completion, the results of the project have been overwhelmingly positive. The monthly cost of delivering 911 service has been reduced, and one-time start-up costs will be recovered in less than nine months. The City is now better able to analyze call handling and response times for each call that comes into the communications center.
“The quality of service is good. The savings are fantastic,” St. John said. “We are proud to be able to display it and proud of the hard work of our staff.”
