California Spent $460 Million on a 911 System That Doesn’t Work

Californians were promised a modern 911 system that would save lives. Instead, after six years and roughly $460 million, the state has delivered a system that doesn’t work. 

I remember sitting in Senator Shannon Grove’s office as the Senate Caucus Communications Director when CalFire officials and local law enforcement came to urge support for overhauling the outdated 911 system. Their warning was clear: the system was old, unreliable, and vulnerable in a state battered by wildfires and natural disasters.

Senator Grove asked a question that still matters today: “Why not fund the upgrade directly from the general fund and establish a clear deadline, rather than imposing an endless surcharge on residents?” Grove supported modernization but opposed burdening families with another ongoing tax.

Six years later, Californians have paid $460 million for a “Next Generation 911” system that does not work. 

The state pursued a complicated, untested design that split California into four separate regions, a model no other state had ever tried. When the first dispatch centers tried to switch over, the new system collapsed. Calls were dropped. Calls were misrouted. In some areas, people couldn’t reach emergency services for twelve hours.

Now, the entire structure is being thrown out and rebuilt, with costs expected to climb by hundreds of millions more. 

Despite this 911 mess, officials refuse to provide a clear price or timeline. Their public statements downplay basic facts. They call the reboot responsible but give no explanation for how nearly half a billion dollars vanished with nothing to show for it. 

Fire chiefs and first responders say they, the people who will rely on this technology, were neither consulted nor given meaningful information during the process. These leaders will be on the front lines during the next firestorm or earthquake, yet they lack confidence because they were never asked for their opinion or expertise.

This is not a minor bureaucratic mistake. It is a breach of public trust.

Californians were promised a system capable of surviving disasters. Instead, we are left with a 1970s-era network that experts warn is deteriorating daily. 

Replacement parts barely exist. Skilled technicians are retiring. Yet the state’s new plan still lacks a clear scope, deadlines, and assurances that first responders will be involved in future decisions. California has repeated this pattern in major tech projects: bold promises, experimental ideas, rising costs, and a lack of accountability, all while families continue to pay some of the highest taxes, utility rates, and gas prices in the country. 

It should outrage every Californian that companies can deliver food, appliances, and medicine to a doorstep with precision, yet the state cannot provide a working phone system after six years and nearly half a billion dollars.

Californians are not asking for the impossible. They want a 911 system that works when their house is on fire or when their child cannot breathe. They seek leaders who tell the truth, set real deadlines, include first responders at every stage, and stop treating taxpayer money as limitless. 

Californians have already paid the bill. It is time for a full accounting and a plan grounded in competence, transparency, and respect for the people who fund this government.