Plano City Council approved the addition of four new 911 command post workstations to expand call-taking capacity during its Aug. 22 meeting.

The additional workstations were recommended by the Public Safety Commission as part of its alternate site expansion. These new workstations will bypass current limits and allow the alternate site the ability to take more 911 and non-emergency calls. The alternate site is used when calls surge during citywide emergencies, according to the city website.

The cost of the four work stations is just under $136,000 and covered by the 9-1-1 Wireline Fees Fund according to city documents.

“If we don’t have the additional capacity, some 911 calls could go unanswered for minutes,” Director of Public Safety Communications Susan Carr said. “We never want to be in a position to not have enough workstations or call-taking capacity to answer 911 calls in a quick time.”

The new workstations are expected to be in place by the end of the year.