Aurora/Marionville 911 consolidate with Monett-Lawrence County 911

Consolidation eliminates need to transfer calls between entities, which slows emergency response times
 
Effective Jan. 6, 2021 upon recommendation of the Lawrence County Emergency Services Board, the city of Aurora/Marionville 911 Communications Department consolidated with the city of Monett-Lawrence County E911 Department resulting in all 911 calls in Lawrence County being answered in one location.
Working together over the last nine months, the Lawrence County Emergency Services Board and the city of Aurora reached a consensus to combine resources to provide 9-1-1 and emergency dispatching services to the public within a consolidated E9-1-1 center. Consolidation of services will allow for all 9-1-1 emergency calls to be handled at one location, eliminating the need to transfer calls within the two centers and resulting in faster dispatching of emergency calls. First responders will continue to receive calls within their respective jurisdictions as the change in the location of the dispatch will not affect the location from which first responders respond.
In 2019, the state of Missouri, following a nationwide trend, passed legislation that offers grant funding and other incentives to 9-1-1 centers that voluntarily consolidate their operations. The Lawrence County Emergency Services Board was recently notified by the Missouri 9-1-1 Service Board that grant funds had been approved to assist in purchasing necessary equipment to facilitate the consolidation for Lawrence County.
“The Lawrence County Emergency Services Board contracts with the City of Monett for E9-1-1 services for Lawrence County through funds established via the 9-1- 1 sales tax that was approved by Lawrence County voters in April 2019,” said Mike Palmer, Lawrence County Emergency Services Board Chairman.
The Monett-Lawrence County E9-1-1 Center currently dispatches for seven law enforcement agencies and 12 fire agencies:
Aurora/Marionville Police Department
Aurora Fire Department
Aurora Rural Fire Department
Freistatt Fire Protection District
Halltown Fire Protection District
Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office
Marionville Fire Department
Miller Fire Department
Miller Police Department
Miller Rural Fire Department / Miller Rescue
Monett Police Department
Monett Fire Department
Monett Rural Fire Protection District
Mount Vernon Police Department
Mount Vernon Fire Protection District
Pierce City Fire Protection District
Pierce City Police Department
Stotts City Fire Protection District
Verona Police Department

“We are very excited to consolidate services for the citizens of Lawrence County and Monett,” said Monett-Lawrence County E9-1-1 Director Bonnie Witt-Schulte. “This shows the professionalism and collaboration that exists between the Lawrence County Emergency Services Board and city officials. Thank you to the city of Aurora residents as they also have had to deal with the changes that are taking place within the consolidation process.”