Jo Daviess County Emergency Telephone System Board

The Jo Daviess County Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB) is a voluntary board that manages funding, oversight and planning for the 911 portion of the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).  The board is comprised of members that have historically represented the public, members of public safety and the Jo Daviess County Board.

The PSAP more commonly referred to as the 911 center or Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center, is located within the Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Office in the Courthouse complex.  ETSB funding comes in part from a telecommunications surcharge collected by the State of Illinois and distributed to the local ETSB.  The funding is used in part to pay for costs associated with the operation, maintenance and upgrades to 911 related equipment.  The balance of the funding comes from the Sheriff’s Office as part of the Jo Daviess County budget. 

The PSAP is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide service to the citizens, businesses and visitors of Jo Daviess County.  In addition, PSAP telecommunication officers provide support services to each law enforcement, fire and emergency medical service agency in the county.  The PSAP currently handles all 911 calls from each community in Jo Daviess County as well as cellular 911 calls.   The PSAP can accept cellular Phase 2 calls, which represent the addition of GPS coordinates that assist in determining a caller’s location.  The PSAP is also equipped to accept Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls.  VOIP calls are generated on internet based equipment/networks and delivered to the PSAP on the traditional telephone network.  We are also text capable as of 12/29/22. 

The Jo Daviess County ETSB is participating in the Northern Illinois Next Generation Alliance (NINGA) for the purpose of upgrading PSAP equipment/capabilities to Next Generation (NG) 911 compliance.  NG911 is a state and federal initiative to improve, standardize and expand 911 call delivery, handling and transfers.   Other counties participating in the Alliance are Stephenson, Carroll, Winnebago, Whiteside, Boone, Ogle, DeKalb and Bureau counties.   NINGA has hired a system integrator and  developed a rollout plan to move forward with the initiative in an effort to replace aging equipment and provide better service  to the constituents represented by the 10 county Alliance.   As of the 2nd quarter of 2017, the Alliance is awaiting plan acceptance from the telephone industry and State of Illinois.  In September 2021, new call handling equipment was installed in the PSAP, in preparation for cut-over to the state Next Generation 9-1-1 network.  Cut-over to state network is tentatively scheduled for Q4 of 2022.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

03-01-22 Premise Alert Program is a registry for special needs individuals used in the event of an emergency.  Use this PAP form to sign up.
09-07-16 Press release - Next Generation 911 System in Illinois