Emergency Communications Commission

Chief Greg Brown, Chairman and Mike Clouse, Director

Adopted

FY23 BUDGET

$19,633,996

Commission Mission

FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS

14.5

The St. Louis County Emergency Communications Commission (ECC) provides a coordinated council of department leaders from public safety agencies and local government entities, with an emphasis on providing interoperable communications that allow firefighters, emergency management services, police, and other groups to better manage incidents by sharing vital information in a rapid fashion.

The Emergency Communications Fund was created in 2010 to record revenues received from the countywide 0.10% sales tax approved by St. Louis County voters on November 3, 2009. Revenues from this tax shall be used to establish, operate, and maintain an emergency communications system within the county.

Budget Overview

The 2023 adopted budget for the Emergency Communications Commission is $19,633,996, an increase of $1,668,375 or 9.3 percent from the 2022 adjusted budget of $17,965,621. Personnel costs comprise 7.9 percent of the budget for 15 positions (14.5 full time equivalents). Operating expenses account for 91.0 percent and capital expenses account for 1.1 percent of the budget.

Significant Changes

The 2023 adopted budget includes an increase of $1.7 million for the Commission. The primary drivers for this include salary increases for employees, additional security monitoring services for communications equipment, and increased expenditures on electronic communications maintenance.

Core Business Functions

The Emergency Communications Commission is responsible for the management of:

→ Countywide interoperable radio communications

→ Upgrading 911 communications in the county

→ The Emergency Outdoor Warning Siren network

→ Management and support of ESInet (emergency services internet protocol network) and MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) networks

Strategic Priorities

 Complete deployment and testing of the Next Generation “9‐1‐1” system for all Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) throughout the county (GG ‐ Efficient and Responsible)

 Implementation of Phase 2 of a 2‐phase plan to move currently leased data circuits from commercial carriers to a ECC owned Private MPLS network (GG ‐ Efficient and Responsible)

 Consolidation of ECC services onto the ESInet to reduce circuit cost (GG ‐ Efficient and Responsible)

 Work with Radio System Vendor to assist all county public safety agencies in the procurement of replacement radios, to include both purchase and lease options with multiple year maintenance support plan. (GG ‐ Efficient and Responsible)