Acting during APCO’s 2021’s Second General Business Session on Tuesday, association members passed a constitutional amendment, witnessed the elevation of the new APCO Executive Committee and heard briefings on the state of the association and on the federal outlook for public safety communications.
The constitutional amendment, which passed without debate, adds chapter offices of Treasurer and Secretary to a list of leadership positions within APCO that may only be held by voting-eligible members. The posts of Chapter President and Executive Council Member have long had this same voting-eligible criteria.
The new APCO Executive Committee consists of President-elect Jason Kern, First Vice President-elect Angela R. Bowen, Second Vice President-elect Becky Neugent and Immediate Past President Margie Moulin.
APCO Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Derek Poarch laid out the state of the association, its membership, programs and political initiatives for members.
Poarch pointed to federal infrastructure legislation containing $15 billion for next generation 9-1-1 and reclassification of public safety telecommunicators by the Office of Management and Budget as major legislative priorities.
Poarch noted legal and advocacy action by the association to reverse Federal Communications Commission actions that threaten public intrusion on spectrum used by public safety communications. The association is challenging an FCC ruling in court and attempting to convince the FCC’s new leadership to suspend other rules.
Poarch praised Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel for her willingness to cooperate with APCO’s priorities regarding spectrum and holding carriers accountable to rules upholding public safety communications safety standards. He said APCO supports Rosenworcel’s appointment as the first female FCC chair.
Like many other workforces in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Poarch said the APCO staff worked remotely for part of 2020. Poarch said the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in training requests but recertifications remained steady.
He noted that the APCO Institute developed and implemented the APCO Virtual Classroom, led in real-time by adjunct instructors. The Registered Public-Safety Leader program, meanwhile, has enrolled 192 students during 2020-2021, while the Certified Public Safety Executive Program has graduated more than 150.
Poarch noted a new initiative, APCO Executive Search, which identifies, recruits and places leaders with emergency communications centers. “Our belief is that this service is needed for our profession, complements our CPE offering and is poised to place successful leaders going forward,” Poarch said.
Poarch pointed to the continued domination of the U.S. frequency coordinating market by AFC spectrum management services. APCO IntelliComm continues to gain traction with more than 100 agencies having fully deployed or in various stages of implementation. Improvements to the guidecard software were unveiled in 2021 and additional enhancements are planned for 2022, Poarch said.
APCO also is enjoying rising membership with increases every year since 2016, reaching 35,659 as of July 1.
Billy Bob Brown Jr., executive assistant director of emergency communications in the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), spoke to APCO members about the need to work together to ensure improvements in public safety communications and to protect vital infrastructure against cyberattacks, among other threats.
Brown said that even as AI, machine learning and the use of quantum computing technologies enter the technology realm “our priorities and our focus are ensuring voice and data interoperability across all platforms, across all vendors.”
Brown singled out ransomware as a threat to national security because it threatens public safety communications.
“All of us are part of that team – what I like to think of as the strategic team trying to ensure the security of the nation,” Brown said.
