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At the Decatur County Commissioner’s meeting Tuesday, January 12, Tonya Griffin with Decatur E911 presented a contract agreement to provide 911 with a host of new security features and upgrades, as well as a new full-time IT service, Blough Tech, Inc.

Located in Cairo, Blough Tech has specialized in servicing small businesses for over 20 years. Prior to this contract, Roy Reynolds with the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department had handled IT for 911. Reynolds recently retired, prompting the search for a new service.

In addition to providing dedicated IT, Blough Tech will also provide back-up service. This was previously provided by Carbonite. In addition to these contracts, 911 will also have an in-house server now, and will begin replacing hard drives in their computers every 5 years. “That’s what Blough Tech recommends,” Griffin said. “Especially because they’re on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And that’s the backbone of what we do.”

Totaled together, all the upgrades for E911 will cost $33,415. The Commissioners approved the contract unanimously.

The E911 Call Center will begin work immediately. They will begin by upgrading each individual terminal on Wednesday, January 13; phone lines will be re-routed through administrative phones, so this will not impact the public’s ability to reach 911.