The Baxter County 911 Advisory Board held its first meeting Tuesday morning with eight board members representing local city and county jurisdictions presiding.
Baxter County OEM Director David Stults, who serves on the board, says finding ways to relay information to the public was a major priority of the meeting.
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Social media outreach was discussed as a primary method of informing the public on topics such a public events, weather outlook and warnings of areas citizens should avoid, such as law enforcement handling a severe situation or fires.
The board also discussed statistics to give each city in the county an idea of how many calls first responders receive and what types of calls they are primarily answering.
The State 911 project which the county has signed onto was another topic of discussion, primarily focusing on the benefits its implementation will have for residents. The project is expected to be finalized in April.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, a yearly event which aims to show appreciations to telecommunicators and allow them to see some of the people behind the calls they answer, takes place April 13 – 19 and is expected to be a busy time. The board discussed potential fun events and awards to be handed out over the week.
911 Advisory Board meetings are planned to be held quarterly with the next meeting scheduled for June 24. The meetings are open to the public and Stults says that public participation and feedback is always encouraged.
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