The Williamson County Commissioners Court placed an emphasis on supporting first responders in the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget. One way they have done this is by creating a dedicated Public Safety Division of Technology Services.
With the partnership of Williamson County Emergency Services and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, this division of Technology Services was created to prioritize and improve technology support for first responders. This division reorganizes existing teams to better support technology in the Emergency Communications center and out in the field. The Wireless Communications Department that manages the county’s radio network is now part of this new Public Safety IT group, along with public safety application support staff, and support and logistics staff from Emergency Communications.
Janessa Stephens was selected to lead this new division as the public safety technology director. She brings 12 years of experience in supporting public safety technology systems to this new role. Stephens attended Purdue University before starting with Williamson in 2010, where she was instrumental in implementing a new law enforcement records management system (RMS) and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. Since 2018, Janessa has been the manager of the applications that are critical to the operations of over 35 public safety agencies.
The Commissioners Court also approved a capital improvement project of $4 million to start a multi-year project to improve the technology used by 9-1-1, law enforcement, EMS and fire departments to respond to calls for service and track information. The new Public Safety Technology Division will be responsible for coordinating the upgrade or replacement of the current public safety technology systems which is now more than 10 years old.
“I am excited to take on this expanded role and help Williamson County utilize technology to benefit the community,” said Ms. Stephens.