By Brian Brady, COO and VP of Business Development, Gistic Research, Inc.

Most Florida counties I talk to know two things about NG9-1-1 GIS.

First, Florida is moving toward NG9-1-1, where standardized GIS data becomes a functional part of location validation and call routing.

Second, there’s rarely extra money sitting in the county budget to pay for getting that data ready.

What fewer counties seem to realize is this:

Florida already has a funding mechanism specifically intended to support this kind of work.

And GIS isn’t buried somewhere in the fine print.

It’s one of the state’s stated funding priorities.

This article is for the 9-1-1 coordinator, county administrator, GIS lead, or anyone else who has to make the case for getting NG9-1-1 GIS data ready — and keeping it ready.

Where the Money Comes From

Florida funds much of its 911 program through the statewide public safety emergency communications systems fee.

Those revenues flow into Florida’s Emergency Communications Trust Fund, administered through the Emergency Communications Board and the Department of Management Services.

A substantial portion goes back to counties, while other funds support statewide, regional, and rural grant programs.

Here’s the important part.

Florida law specifically identifies funding priorities that include:

• Upgrading or replacing emergency communications systems
• Developing and maintaining statewide 911 routing, geographic, and management information systems
• Developing and maintaining Next Generation 911 services and equipment

Read that second one again.

Geographic information systems are specifically named as a funding priority.

So if your county needs to improve:

• Road centerlines
• Site/Structure Address Points
• PSAP or emergency service boundaries
• GIS data quality
• NG9-1-1 GIS maintenance tools

you’re not trying to stretch the intent of the program.

GIS is specifically included in it.

The current Florida 911 Grant Program goes even further.

Its Priority 2 specifically includes GIS data support to help counties meet NENA GIS standards, development of required GIS layers, and GIS maintenance tools, including software and Software as a Service (SaaS).

That matters.

Frame It as 9-1-1 Readiness, Not Just GIS Cleanup

The Emergency Communications Board funds 9-1-1.

An application that says:

“We need to clean up our GIS data.”

can sound like another county IT project.

An application that says:

“Our PSAP boundaries, road centerlines, address points, and other required GIS layers must support NG9-1-1 location validation and geospatial call routing, and this project gets us there.”

tells a very different story.

Florida’s own Emergency Communications State Plan recognizes GIS as a functional component of NG9-1-1 and identifies standardized GIS data as necessary for the Location Validation Function (LVF) and Emergency Call Routing Function (ECRF).

That’s the story your application should tell.

Show the Gap With Numbers

Don’t just say the data needs work.

Show it.

How many:

• Boundary gaps and overlaps?
• Address-range problems?
• Street names aren’t properly normalized?
• Site/Structure Address Points fail validation?
• Required GIS elements still need correction?

And most importantly:

How close is the county to readiness today?

Florida’s current grant priorities specifically reference helping counties meet the 98% NENA GIS data minimum standards.

That gives you something very useful:

A measurable starting point and a measurable finish line.

If you don’t have a current validation report, get one before you write the application.

At Gistic Research, we’ll produce an initial GIVE validation report from a county’s existing data at no charge.

Why?

Because a measurable problem is much easier to fund than a vague one.

Getting the Data Clean Isn’t Enough

This may be the most important part of the application.

The statute doesn’t just say develop.

It says:

Develop and maintain.

That distinction matters.

A one-time cleanup can get the county closer to readiness.

But the data doesn’t stop changing.

Every year brings:

• New subdivisions
• New addresses
• Renamed roads
• Annexations
• Boundary changes
• Neighboring-jurisdiction edits

Every one of those changes creates another opportunity for the data to drift.

So don’t build the application around the idea that someone will clean the GIS once and the problem is solved.

Getting the data clean is important.

Keeping it clean is the real job.

And Florida’s current grant priorities specifically recognize GIS maintenance tools, including software and SaaS.

How I’d Build the Application

If I were helping a county put the application together, I’d structure it around seven things.

1. Statement of Need

Keep it short.

Explain:

• Where the county’s GIS stands today
• What NG9-1-1 transition you’re working toward
• What needs to be corrected
• What happens if the data isn’t ready

Tie it directly to location validation, geospatial routing, provisioning, and the current NENA GIS Data Model.

As of 2026, that’s NENA-STA-006.3-2026.

2. Statutory Alignment

Don’t make the reviewer figure out why your project qualifies.

Show them.

Connect the project directly to Florida’s funding priority to develop and maintain 911 routing and geographic information systems.

The statute already makes the case. Use it.

3. Scope and Deliverables

Make every deliverable measurable.

For example:

• Onboard existing road centerline, address point, and boundary layers
• Normalize street names
• Resolve boundary gaps and overlaps
• Correct address ranges and parity
• Reconcile shared boundaries with neighboring counties
• Address legacy MSAG/ALI synchronization requirements
• Implement ongoing validation in the editing workflow

Whenever possible, tie each deliverable back to something identified in the validation report.

4. Timeline

Give the Board milestones.

A phased six-month plan may be realistic for many counties, depending on where the data starts.

The exact number of months matters less than showing a believable path from:

Where we are today → where we need to be for NG9-1-1.

5. Budget

Follow the application’s cost categories and eligibility rules closely.

Separate:

• One-time implementation costs
• Recurring costs
• Training
• Software or SaaS costs

GIS software and SaaS maintenance tools are specifically contemplated in the current grant priorities, although individual expenses still have to be eligible and approved within the project scope.

6. Sustainability

Answer one simple question:

What happens after the grant?

Explain:

• Who maintains the data
• How new edits are validated
• How the county prevents the data from drifting
• How recurring costs will be handled

If the county doesn’t have dedicated GIS staff, say so.

Then explain how the proposed workflow allows addressing or 9-1-1 staff to maintain the data while bringing in specialized help only when it’s needed.

7. Regional Coordination

NG9-1-1 doesn’t stop at the county line.

Neither do GIS problems.

Shared boundaries have to agree from both sides.

If neighboring counties are working toward the same goal, include that in the application.

Florida’s program allows regional applications, and regional coordination strengthens the operational case for the project.

Two Mistakes I’d Avoid

Don’t Fund a Cleanup Without a Plan to Keep the Data Clean

A project that fixes today’s problems but leaves the county without a process for catching tomorrow’s problems isn’t a sustainable NG9-1-1 strategy.

You may simply end up paying to solve the same kinds of problems again.

The stronger argument is:

The grant gets us ready — and gives us a way to stay ready.

Don’t Assume the State Will Solve Your County’s GIS Maintenance Problem

Florida is moving toward statewide and regional NG9-1-1 capabilities.

But counties still have responsibilities of their own.

Florida’s Emergency Communications State Plan places ultimate responsibility for the county’s emergency communications system with the county, even when day-to-day responsibilities are delegated elsewhere.

Waiting only compresses the amount of time available to:

• Clean the data
• Validate it
• Reconcile it with neighboring jurisdictions
• Establish a process for maintaining it

Where We Sit

At Gistic Research, we build GIVE, a browser-based platform designed specifically around maintaining and validating NG9-1-1 GIS data.

Florida counties have used the grant process to help fund GIVE, and we’ll help counties prepare the technical portions of their applications at no charge.

That includes:

• Producing an initial validation report
• Helping define the technical scope
• Helping identify measurable deliverables
• Providing a scope-and-budget section that can be adapted to the application

Why do we do that?

Because a well-documented problem is a much stronger argument for funding than a vague one.

If you’d like a validation report or a scope-and-budget section you can adapt for your county, contact me directly at brian.brady@gisticinc.com.

The grant program exists.

GIS is specifically identified as a funding priority.

GIS software and SaaS maintenance tools are specifically recognized in the current program.

The opportunity is there.

The next step is building the application.

Primary references: Florida Statutes §§365.172 and 365.173; Florida Emergency Communications State Plan; Florida W Form 3A — 911 Grant Programs; NENA-STA-006.3-2026, NG9-1-1 GIS Data Model.

Brian Brady is COO and VP of Business Development at Gistic Research, Inc. Gistic has been developing collaborative GIS and data-quality solutions for public agencies since 2005. Brian writes regularly about NG9-1-1 GIS standards, data quality, collaboration, and the practical realities of moving from legacy GIS workflows into continuously maintained NG9-1-1 environments.