Manatee County is a step closer to having a centralized 911 system.

According to the Bradenton Herald, the idea is to have one location handle all 911 calls for the county and all of its municipalities. An agreement in principal has been reached on a centralized call system.

Paul Alexander, the county's director of information technology services, told the Herald one system would be more efficient in emergencies. And the new system would replace 40-year-old technology.

The preliminary arrangement calls for all 911 calls to be answered at the county Emergency Operations Center, and each municipality would use the same standardized computer-aided dispatch system to  send out emergency workers, Alexander told the Herald.

The county also hopes to improve efficiency and cut down the chances of error. The cost is expected to be $5 million to $6 million.