E-911 dispatch board approves hiring accounting firm, new dispatch software
Dispatch Director Debbie Carter, left, explains features about the computer-aided dispatch software bids during Monday’s special-called E-911 Dispatch Board meeting. Representatives from city and county government also attended the meeting.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, 10:30 p.m. — The dispute between the E-911 Dispatch Board and the City of Bardstown over the board’s finances and payroll services is heading to the resolution: The board voted at a special meeting Monday to hire Hibbs & Associates CPAs to handle the board’s payroll and other accounting services.
The decision brings to a conclusion a tumultuous six-week period that began Nov. 19 when the Bardstown City Council’s finance committee elected to end city-provided accounting and payroll services effective Dec. 31. Dispatch Director Debbie Carter was informed of the decision the following day.
The issue that led to the city’s decision was the dispatch board’s end-of-year deficit. According to Larry Green, the city’s assistant administrator, the city’s auditor noted the deficit and questioned the wisdom of the city government’s role handling financial services of an entity over which it has no control.
The weeks that followed included statements by officials suggesting the E-911 Dispatch Board’s spending was “out of control.” The City of Bardstown offered to continue to administer the dispatch board payroll and budget, but only if dispatch employees became city employees, which would give the city the power of hiring, firing and disciplining dispatch employees. Negotiations between Mayor John Royalty and Judge-Executive Dean Watts looked promising after a Dec. 16 city finance committee meeting, with both agreeing to work on a compromise. In the end, the city would not go along with an agreement that did not give it power over dispatch employees.
In her report to the dispatch board, Carter said the accounting services will cost the board from $550 to $625 a month, with the total dependent on the time involved for additional accounting services. She noted that the board will need to amend its 2015-16 budget to reflect the new contract for services. The board will discontinue its contract for the CodeRED emergency notification service to help cover the costs of the accounting services, she said.
Representatives from both governments that jointly fund the E-911 dispatch center attended the meeting, including Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts; Magistrates Keith Metcalfe and Jeff Lear; Bardstown Mayor John Royalty; Larry Green, assistant city administrator; City Clerk Barbie Bryant; and Tracy Hudson, the city’s chief financial officer.
No comments were taken from the audience during the meeting.
COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH SOFTWARE. The dispatch board also approved a bid for a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software from Zuercher Technologies. The base bid of $153,500 was not the cheapest of the four bids, but Carter said the software best met the dispatch center’s needs. The annual maintenance fee includes software and hardware updates needed along with technical support.
The new CAD system will be paid for with grant money the dispatch center received for such an upgrade last fiscal year. At that time, the board approved the purchase of a new CAD from a provider that later failed to follow-through with features promised by the company’s sales representatives. The board canceled its order and is receiving a refund from that vendor.
NEXT UP. The dispatch board will meet next 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. The Bardstown City Council will discuss the dispatch board services at its special-called meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28.
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