How Aurelian Helped La Crosse County 911 Save Time, Reduce Stress, and Refocus on Emergencies

Overview

La Crosse County 911 serves over 110,000 residents in Wisconsin, a population that swells during the school year thanks to two universities and a technical college. In 2024, the center handled nearly 148,000 calls, of which just over 31,000 were emergency 911 calls. The remaining 116,000 were administrative or non-emergency calls—a growing challenge for a dispatch center already facing persistent staffing shortages.

Challenge

With authorization for 28 positions but only 22 currently staffed, the center was stretched thin. Dispatchers were burdened by a constant influx of administrative calls that had little to do with public safety. From public records requests to property and evidence inquiries, these calls consumed valuable time and diverted attention from 911 emergencies and radio traffic. As Operations Supervisor Cory Lynch put it, “In my 20 years here, we’ve only been fully staffed for two months.”

Solution

Cory first encountered Aurelian at the NENA Conference in Orlando, where he did a booth demo. After a follow-up call and a team demo, La Crosse County moved forward. Aurelian’s AI voice assistant, Ava, was introduced to handle the center’s non-emergency calls.

The rollout was seamless. Aurelian’s team provided in-person training, live support during onboarding, and weekly follow-up calls to fine-tune routing and scripts. As Cory described, “It’s probably been the easiest implementation of any software for public safety that I have been through.”

Impact

Since go-live on May 5, Ava has handled over 14,000 calls in 70 days, resolving 67% of them without a transfer to a dispatcher. That translates to an estimated two hours of time saved per shift.

“It’s a force multiplier,” Cory explained. “It allows our dispatchers to focus on actual 911 calls and radio traffic instead of spending time figuring out where to transfer admin calls.”

The difference is especially noticeable during peak shifts, when phone traffic is heavy. Dispatchers report a more even workload and a reduction in stress caused by bouncing between high-stakes emergencies and low-priority admin requests.

Cory has even used Aurelian’s reporting to drive conversations with other agencies, showing them just how many of their forwarded calls were bogging down the center. “We can show them the data, and now they’re starting to realize maybe they shouldn't be answering those calls themselves.”

Customer Support & Feedback

Cory praised Aurelian’s customer support as a standout experience: “I feel super supported. Our weekly calls with Alex are always productive. He knows the system and he understands public safety now, even though he didn’t come from this world.”

La Crosse also benefits from daily user feedback within the platform, which Corey reviews each morning. “That feedback helps us make quick improvements. And the performance metrics are great to show the county what their investment is actually doing.”

Public Reception

Despite concerns that the public might push back against AI, La Crosse saw a smooth rollout. “We haven’t had a lot of issues with the public,” Cory noted. The center ran a local awareness campaign through TV and radio, and early caller feedback has been largely positive: “Easy and accurate,” and “I already got my callback, thank you,” were just a few of the comments.

Final Thoughts

“I’ve talked to a lot of centers already,” Cory said. “This system gives our team breathing room, keeps stress levels more balanced, and helps us focus on what we’re actually supposed to be doing.”

Aurelian isn’t replacing dispatchers. It’s augmenting them. And in La Crosse County, that augmentation is already making a real-world impact.