City, County leaders consider consolidating 911 center

Published on November 17, 2025

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - City officials and Cumberland County officials met for a special meeting Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. to discuss several proposals of a joint 911 communication center serving residents both in Fayetteville and throughout Cumberland County.

As public safety is a top priority for Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville, both boards voted to explore models of consolidating the 911 communication center between the two governments.

Staff delivered a presentation outlining previous attempts and the recommendations and report from the public safety working group established by the request of Mayor Mitch Colvin and County Commissioner Chair Kirk deViere.

“A unified 9-1-1 Center represents more than operational efficiency, it’s a shared vision for how Fayetteville and Cumberland County can rise to meet the needs of a growing, dynamic community,” said Mayor Mitch Colvin. "By working together, we have the opportunity to build a modern emergency-response system that sets a new standard for service, coordination, and innovation. I’m confident that this collaboration will create lasting benefits for our residents and strengthen the safety net that protects us all.”

There were two proposed governance structure models:

Joint 911 Communications Board

The joint 911 communications governance board model would provide policy direction by setting strategic priorities and operational policies, maintain budget oversight and costs, ensure performance accountability by monitoring service levels and response times, oversee personnel matters including staffing and training standards, manage the consolidated facility and technology infrastructure and address disputes to ensure fair treatment of all participating jurisdictions. This board would include public safety agency heads including municipalities, volunteer fire representatives, Sheriff representative and EMS representative.

Single Entity Control (County or City led)

The single entity control model would be led by either by Cumberland County or the city of Fayetteville, along with an advisory board. Policy and procedure would be directed by the governing entity.

If the consolidation were to take place, there were two proposed options for the location of the center. One option is to use existing county center and build backup location with city, and the other option is a new facility built by the City, using the existing location as backup.

The presenters also included a mental health component in the presentation, where crisis call diversion and mobile crisis teams are embedded in the PSAP.

In this agreement, there would be a 50/50 shared cost with each entity contributing equally and splitting operation cost and capital expansion.

After discussions, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted to in favor of a joint governance board with equal representation from the City and County. City Council voted for option Model 2, a joint 911 call center with the City leading operations. The motion passed with a 6-2 vote. Mayor Colvin and Councilman Malik Davis voted in opposition.

Councilman D.J. Haire was present but did not officially vote on the matter, which makes his vote in favor.

Councilman Haire then made a motion to reconsider the previous motion, which was voting for Model 2, a joint 911 call center with the City leading operations. The motion failed with a 4-4 vote. Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen and Council members Mario Benavente, Deno Hondros, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin voted in opposition.

Council members Derrick Thompson and Brenda McNair were not in attendance.

Both the City and County managers were directed to continue to work together on the consolidation efforts.

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