For nearly ten years, Cumberland County and the City of Fayetteville have been locked in a political standoff over where to build a consolidated 911 Communications Center — a facility that every resident, every business, and every first responder depend on in moments when seconds determine life or death.

In addition to us, the Fayetteville Observer and CityView have documented this saga of feuding City and Cumberland County officials in detail. The facts and need are not in dispute. What is in dispute, embarrassingly and inexcusably, is the location. And, because of that, nothing gets built, and the health, safety, and well-being of every Cumberland County resident continues to be ignored. This is no longer a disagreement. It’s a dereliction of duty and responsibility.

Our current emergency communications system is fragmented, outdated, and strained. The facilities are outdated, and new technology upgrades are long overdue. A combined communications center seems only logical. 

A unified 911 center would eliminate confusion and improve response times, strengthen coordination between police, fire, EMS, and emergency management, and provide better storm, disaster, and crisis response times. When you take into consideration that these duplicate services have tremendous long-term costs for both government entities, they pale in light of the public safety all 350,000 county residents deserve.

After talking with numerous members of the community, both city and county residents, and in addition to advocating for a combined operation, we have concluded a combined City-County 911 Communications Center would be best located centrally on county-owned property centrally located close to the County Government Complex. This would reduce land acquisition costs and locate it near other county emergency services making it easier (and faster) to integrate it with existing county emergency management operations. 

Mayor Mitch Colvin and the city are not in agreement, stating that the center should be strategically located within city limits for faster response times, which they believe better supports urban call volume. 

Well, from where I sit, urban call volume is county call volume. Without a doubt, Colvin’s obstinate attitude toward this project dictates it’s all about wanting the City to build, control and operate the combined 911 Center should it ever be constructed. Well, so I don’t run the risk of being redundant, I’ll refer you to my editorial: Mitch Colvin’s Downtown Convention Center push demands accountability before ambition in the June 10 edition of Up & Coming Weekly (https://www.upandcomingweekly.com/views/12342-publisher-s-pen-mitch-colvin-s-downtown-convention-center-push-demands-accountability-before-ambition). In summation, the City, under Colvin’s leadership, has no successful track record for building, operating, or maintaining such a vital and elaborate operation as a Cumberland County combined 911 center. If that’s not enough evidence, look at the dismal way Cumberland County Parks & Rec assets have been maintained over the years since the city took over that responsibility.

The real problem here is city leadership. Reasonable and honest people could reach a reasonable compromise. However, local residents can’t ignore the institutional distrust, pride, turf protection, and political grudges that override their sworn responsibilities to the public. For nearly a decade, Colvin has chosen conflict over cooperation, posturing over progress, and political gain over the county’s population for public safety. It’s a gross failure of leadership.

Both Cumberland County and Fayetteville City leaders must stop treating this as a political chess match and start treating it as the public safety emergency it is. The residents of Cumberland County have waited long enough, and it’s time their safety should not be collateral damage in this decade long political feud.

A consolidated 911 Center is not a city or a county project. It is a Cumberland County community project. And this community deserves leaders who can rise above petty politics and do “the right things, for the right reasons”. 

If city and county officials cannot come to an agreement soon, then the public should demand new leaders who can. Local lives depend on it. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Timeline:

• 911 Community Call Center: An Undistinguished History

• 2014–2015:  Early Start: with inaction on governance or location. 

• 2016: First Formal Proposal: County recommends the Government Complex as a logical site. City officials express concerns about control and operational authority. Talks stall.

• 2017–2018: Tension Grows Between City and County: Both acknowledge the need. But neither agrees on who should lead the project.

• 2019: More Studies, Committees, and Stalemates: Joint committees formed and dissolved without producing a unified plan. Cost increases.

• 2020–2021: Pandemic Exposes Current System Weaknesses: COVID 19 strains emergency communications and highlights the need for unified operations. Despite the evidence of system stress, city–county negotiations remain frozen.

• 2022: The Location Fight Becomes Public: Media begins documenting the feud in detail, with growing distrust between city and county leaders.

• 2023: A Decade of Delay Becomes Impossible to Ignore: Residents, dispatchers, and first responders speak out about the operational challenges caused by fragmentation. Public safety ignored.

• 2024: Renewed Talks, Same Stalemate: County officials prioritize safety, cost savings, and centrality. Mayor Colvin and city officials emphasize control.

• 2025: Public Pressure Intensifies: Community leaders, business owners, and public safety advocates call for action. Ignored. Dysfunction continues with no agreement reached.

• 2026: Still No Decision: Costs have risen, technology has aged further, and Cumberland County residents remain at risk. While Fayetteville has developed a firm track record for failed projects of this nature.