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A 9-1-1 Committee meeting was called on Wednesday afternoon in the County Commissioners office, with members of both Grady and Decatur County 9-1-1, law enforcement and county commissioners attending. The only item on the agenda was a proposed split between the two county’s 9-1-1 services. The proposed separation would not be immediate, with a proposed timeline taking roughly a year at least to complete.

According to Grady officials, this is “a thing about demographics”; they stated that the initial arrangement between Decatur and Grady worked well, but the logistical differences between the two, such as Decatur’s increase in industry, has made it no longer feasible.

“There’s certainly not any hard feelings at all on either side,” County Commissioner Pete Stephens said. “It’s just something that the board of Grady County and the board of Decatur County feels like is beneficial for both counties.”

This decision will not affect the two county’s 9-1-1 radio system used for dispatch and operations, with the towers and infrastructure remaining in place; once the separation is complete, both counties will simply be responsible for responding to their own calls and dispatching their own emergency services.