Newly released internal records show insiders on California’s troubled $456 million Next Generation 911 project lost confidence in the system’s chief architect years before he left the state agency overseeing the overhaul.  The project is intended to replace California’s aging emergency ca ll system with internet-based technology capable of handling text messages, video, and more precise caller location data. The records, obtained under the California Public Records Act more than a year after the original request was filed, also shed light on what contributed to the departure of Budge Currier, the former Assistant Director of Public Safety Communication at the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).  In one 2024 email to a top Cal OES official, a regional Next Gen 911 coordinator wrote that Currier prioritized innovation over public safety. She doesn’t name him in the email but said later said she was referring to the now-retired California Next Gen 911 architect.    “The project lacked clear direction, operational knowledge, and the one person really in control was willing to risk lives for the sake of innovation,” the regional coordinator wrote. She said she learned about these issues shortly after taking her role in January 2020. “The project lacked clear direction, operational knowledge, and the one person really in control was willing to risk lives for the sake of Innovation. When we clearly had proof of recklessness or engineering flaws, it was ignored or downplayed.”NG9-1-1 Regional Coordinator in 2024 NBC Bay Area previously documented cases in which dispatchers said routing failures and transfer problems delayed emergency response during real 911 calls. WATCH NOW: FULL NBC BAY AREA INVESTIGATION ON CA’S NEXT GEN 911 UPGRADE After years of delays and technical problems, a new leadership team is now overseeing the project. State officials say they are taking the system in a new direction with the goal of getting Southern California dispatch centers onto the upgraded network for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.  “Through personnel changes, increased oversight, and contractor accountability, the state is now working toward a renewed vision for NG 9-1-1,” Cal OES said in a statement. Cal OES officials, however, even when pressed by state lawmakers during recent public hearings, have been reluctant to assign blame for past failures. Records and interviews, however, suggest broader concerns about oversight inside the agency during the project’s rollout.  Internal Cal OES email obtained by NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit. But multiple project insiders who directly worked on the upgrade said Currier knew the technology had significant issues but approved it for deployment anyway. The sources mostly spoke anonymously because they still work in the industry and fear retaliation. “He had professional network engineers that would tell him, ‘This is not going to work, we need to talk about this, we need to change this,’” said the insider, who worked on the state’s Next Gen 911 team. “And he told them that, ‘we’re not going to change this.’” Separately, two high-level Cal OES sources told NBC Bay Area that Currier rejected attempts to hold vendors accountable and dismissed data they said identified critical flaws with the 911 network. The officials said Currier dismissed attempts to send out two dozen contract violation letters to vendors over problematic technology. “[Next Gen 911 officials] feared upsetting Budge,” that same project insider said. “I heard [Currier] threaten them once or twice while he was there that he could fire all of them if they didn’t do what he said.” “I heard [Currier] threaten them once or twice while he was there that he could fire all of them if they didn’t do what he said.”CA NG911 source Currier did not respond directly to questions about how he treated employees or allegations that he dismissed warning signs that pointed to problems with the technology. In a text message to NBC Bay Area, however, he said the processes to address any employee grievances or contract violation letters were enforced. In addition to highlighting early internal concerns about the project, the new records also help answer the question of why Currier left Cal OES long before the project was even close to being completed. Text messages to and from a Cal OES official and a 911 dispatch manager show the decision to leave may not have been his choice, even though Currier publicly said he retired. Shortly after parting ways with Cal OES in 2024, the dispatch manager, who was closely working with the state on the NG 911 transition, sent a text message to the number two Cal OES official on the project at the time, saying: “Well? Is he gone? Access removed? Spill the tea!” The Cal OES official responded, “He upset executive[s] a few too many times and got ahead of being fired by retirement.” Currier isn’t the only Cal OES leader who’s left the agency. The agency’s director Nancy Ward retired at the end of 2025 and deputy director Lisa Mangat, as of January 2026, became a retired annuitant for Cal OES. NBC Bay Area reached out to Cal OES requesting comment from Mangat and Ward. We did not hear back from the officials, but the agency said Ward “has dedicated her extraordinary career, spanning more than three decades, to protecting Californians and Americans before, during, and after disasters.” Regarding Mangat, Cal OES said in a statement, “Mangat has been a key leader supporting Californians in variety of capacities across multiple decades. Her service has made our state stronger.” While the records shed new light on past problems, newly appointed state officials say they’re now focused on finally bringing a modern 9-1-1 system to California. The agency said it’s committed to transparency around the project and posted a series of documents on its website outlining project timelines and past system failures.  “We’re moving forward – deliberately and transparently – to modernize our emergency response with a statewide Next Generation 9-1-1 system,” an agency spokesperson said. Even as Cal OES promises a “renewed vision” for the project, lawmakers continue questioning whether the agency that oversaw years of delays should remain in charge of completing California’s new emergency response system before the 2028 Olympics. If you have a question or comment about this story, contact [email protected]. ...read more read less