Seminole County residents with Verizon phones will be able to dial 311 to reach county government for non-emergency questions, under an agreement the Board of County Commissioners approved Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The service-level agreement, passed as part of the consent agenda, tells Verizon Wireless to route 311 calls made from its customers' phones inside Seminole County to the county's main switchboard at 407-665-0000, according to the contract attached to the agenda.
County staff noted that the Federal Communications Commission set aside 311 for non-emergency police and other government services, giving people an option other than 911 when a situation does not need an immediate emergency response.
The county pays nothing under the deal, and it earns nothing from the calls. Under the contract, Verizon has six months from the date both sides sign to finish the network work needed to start the service, and the county is responsible for answering the calls and keeping enough capacity to handle them during busy periods.
Either party can end the arrangement with 30 days' written notice. The agenda item was brought by Emergency Management Director Alan Harris.
The documents cover Verizon customers only; they do not say how calls to 311 from other carriers are handled.
Treatment court money
Commissioners also approved, on consent, an application for up to $1,025,750 over four years from the U.S. Justice Department's Adult Treatment Court Program. The 18th Judicial Circuit's problem-solving courts asked the county to apply, according to the staff summary.
