Jonathan, a representative of the county's Department of Emergency Services (DES), told commissioners the department will present two items at the upcoming meeting to adopt a "Gen 9-1-1" training platform that uses artificial intelligence to generate simulated calls and provide automatic quality-assurance feedback.

"We answer it like we do now, but it actually has a back and forth that actually will have someone respond to you about your question," Jonathan said, describing the platform's simulated, interactive scenarios. He said the system can emulate callers of different ages, genders and dispositions — including belligerent callers — and that it generates QA feedback at the end of scenarios to show whether dispatchers asked required questions.

Jonathan said staff obtained two pricing numbers: a prorated amount to start Oct. 1 through the end of the year (the transcript records a garbled figure for that prorate), and an annual price of about $5,000 for the next year, which the presenter said would provide unlimited access for training use. He said the county trialed or demoed the product with another 9-1-1 center and found it useful for realistic scenario practice, and he indicated the department has budgeted the funds for the purchase.

A commissioner suggested the platform could be used for public tours or demonstrations to school or community groups without playing real calls; Jonathan agreed the tool could supply "pretend calls" for demonstration purposes.

Why it matters: The platform is intended to supplement existing manual and live training for dispatchers by giving staff realistic, repeatable call simulations and automated performance feedback. The department said the system would be used alongside current training programs rather than to replace them.

The presenter said the items will appear on the commissioners' upcoming meeting agenda for formal consideration; no formal purchase action was recorded during the work session.