District Functions

The purpose of the Washington Parish Communications District is to continuously establish an enhanced 9-1-1 emergency telephone communications system in Washington Parish.  The district is governed by a seven member board appointed by the parish government.  Board members receive no compensation for their work.

There are a number of documents which define the District’s purpose. These documents are:

  1. Ordinance 22, Washington Parish Police Jury, 10 May 1988.
  2. Louisiana R.S. 33:9102 to 9109.1.
  3. Attorney General Opinion 96 – 97.
  4. Proposition, November 8, 1988, authorizing the levy and collection of an emergency telephone service charge.
  5. Proposition, October 4, 2003, requesting additional funding fee…to be used for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, building, improving, equipping and/or operating and maintaining a 9-1-1 emergency communications facility…”
  6. Ordinance 09-500, Washington Parish Council, September 14, 2009.

A detailed review of these documents can be found here.

The Communications District employs three full time personnel to handle the day to day business of the district.  This includes public 9-1-1 education, emergency response agency liaison, 9-1-1 equipment replacement to ensure that the system is continuously established , ANI/ALI database management, Washington Parish map development, maintenance and distribution, plus street addressing outside of the municipalities of Bogalusa and Franklinton.

The district has equipped three primary public safety answering points to receive 9-1-1 calls : The Bogalusa Police Department, the Franklinton Police Department, and the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office. The Communications Center on Dollar Road serves as the back-up facility.

Each public safety answering point is staffed and operated by the respective agency’s dispatch personnel. These dispatch personnel are employed by their “home” agency who is responsible for their pay, performance, supervision, and training.

The specific activities of the District are as follows:

Addressing Activities

  • Field addressing outside of Bogalusa and Franklinton.
  • Verifies addresses in response to appropriate inquires.
  • Road Sign Assistance.

Public Assistance and Education Activities

  • Education of the Public on 9-1-1 Usage via Voice and TDD.
  • Education of PSAP Employees on Equipment Usage.
  • Education of PSAP Employees on Subjects of 911 Importance.
  • Team Building Between 9-1-1 and Fire / Law Enforcement / EMS.
  • Facilitation to Resolve Citizen Complaints.
  • Road Sign Assistance.
  • Road Naming Assistance.
  • Public Hearings On Road Name Changes.

Mapping Activities

  • Conversion of paper maps to digital formats.
  • Map Updating.
  • Road Index Updating.
  • Addition of new map features.
  • Provide maps to agencies and individuals.
  • Using ESRI Mapping System :
  • Stream roads in Washington Parish which reside in the official MSAG data base. 
  •  GPS coordinates of bridges in Washington Parish presented on dispatcher mapping.
  • Determine GPS coordinates of ESN (Fire District) boundaries whenever a boundary line crosses a MSAG listed road.
  • Determine GPS coordinates of all addressed structures in Washington Parish.
  • Adjust GPS point file of roof top addresses to actual roof tops as shown on the aerial photo layer.
  • Add or correct road name data for each roof top address to the MSAG valid name.
  • Bread crumb all new roads when they are addressed and record road direction, and TO / FROM, LEFT / RIGHT data.
  • Download new data into ArcPro program for final editing and printing when needed.
  • Using calibrated measuring odometer in Communication District Automobile
  • Determine the five digit address for all requests from the public and record on field addressing sheets on those roads outside the city limits of Franklinton or Bogalusa. 
  • Determine the three or four digit addresses for all requests from the public on those roads outside the city limits of Franklinton or Bogalusa which were originally given such addresses by the US Post Office.
  • Where three or four digit addresses are given, also determine the five digit address for future reference and record on field addressing sheets.
  • Determine the five digit address of bridges in Washington Parish and record on field addressing sheets.
  • Determine the five digit address of ESN boundaries when the boundary crosses a MSAG listed road.
  • Using Field Addressing sheets :
    • Record five digit addresses of houses, structures, etc.
    • Record bridge addresses.
    • Record ESN boundary address if road is crossed by ESN boundary line.
    • Compare ESN number for roads on the digital map to that shown on Field sheets and correct field sheets to the ESN number shown on the digital map.
    • Correct ESN’s on field sheets to reflect changes.
    • Review road segment data corrections from Geo-Comm and correct  field addressing sheets to match new road segments.
    • Document all road segment changes for MSAG updates.
    • Add new field sheets for new roads.
    • File all field addressing data sheets
  • Access data base:
    • Record addresses issued and other related information.
  • PSAP Equipment Related Activities
    • Serves as contact for PSAP technical problems by the emergency response agencies.
    •  Emergency Communications Center and Tower Complex technical related issues.
    • Coordinates technical response to equipment issues as they arise.
    • Maintains equipment breakdown history and technical service logs.
    • Supply PSAP equipment to the public service law enforcement agencies to ensure that the emergency telephone
      system is continuously established.
    • Monitor cell tower testing for Phase 1 and 2 performance.
  • Wireless  Activities 
    • Phase II wireless cell testing support to the wireless carriers.
  • VoIP  Activities 
    • VoIP testing support to the service providers.
  • Administrative Activities
    • Fixed Asset Management Revenue / Cost Management.
    • Accounting of all financial transactions.
    • Management of local address data base and liaison with the AT&T data base.
    • Data updates to Washington Parish Assessor’s office.
    • Support activities for the Board and its members.
  • Special Projects
    • Manage and support the completion of projects to improve performance of emergency telephone related communications equipment.
    • Manage and support the completion of projects to improve performance of new equipment.