Dispatch board fire service representation an issue on council’s radar

Bardstown Fire Chief Randy Walker reports on Tuesday’s meetings with the county fire chiefs’ association and the E-911 dispatch board.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2015, 11:46 p.m. — The debate over who should represent the county’s fire departments on the E-911 Dispatch Board was a question that generated heated discussion that carried over to three separate meetings on Tuesday.

Councilman Bill Buckman questioned the fairness of the dispatch center’s bylaws if they allow them to shut out the city’s representatives.

Tuesday afternoon’s meeting of the county fire chief’s association was the first for Randy Walker, Bardstown’s new fire chief. During that meeting, the discussion arose regarding the E-911 board and the selection of the two fire service representatives that serve on the board.

According to the latest revision of the E-911 board’s bylaws, the seven-member board consists of four police representatives, one EMS representative, and two fire service members.

The two fire service representatives have historically been board chairman New Haven Fire Chief Fred DeWitt and the Bardstown/Nelson County fire chief. After the city and the volunteer fire departments split last year, the city fire chief continued on the E-911 board as a fire service representative.

According to Walker, during the chief’s meeting, DeWitt — who serves as chairman of both the county fire chiefs association and E-911 dispatch board — said he believed the E-911 bylaws didn’t require the city fire chief to serve on the dispatch board. Under DeWitt’s interpretation of the bylaws, the chief’s association could recommend any two individuals to represent the county’s fire services on the dispatch board.

The dispatch board’s bylaws do not specifically state which fire department or fire department chief should represent the fire services. Under DeWitt’s interpretation of the bylaws, Walker explained, the City of Bardstown could wind up with just one representative on the E-911 board or possibly none — an outcome that didn’t settle well with Mayor John Royalty or the city council.

Walker told the council that the dispatch bylaws’ final page includes signature lines for the Bardstown Police Chief and the chief of the then-combined Bardstown Fire and volunteer departments. The fact that both the city police and city fire chief are on that page is proof of the bylaws’ original intent, which was to give the city two representatives on the board, he said.

“In terms of the call volume and money the city contributes, the city’s fire chief and police chief should be represented on the 911 board,” Walker told the council. “But that was not the consensus of all the county fire chiefs.”

When Walker raised the issue at the E-911 Dispatch Board meeting Tuesday afternoon, there was discussion but no action taken. The E-911 board decided to delay any action until the complete board had a chance to review the issue at its February meeting.

Councilman Bill Buckman questioned how the city could contribute 40 percent of the E-911 dispatch budget and not have a guarantee the city fire chief a seat on the E-911 board. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

While Bardstown taxpayers contribute about 40 percent of the E-911 expenses not covered by 911 revenues, the county fire departments pay nothing for dispatching services, Mayor John Royalty told the council.

“None of these departments pay anything,” he said. “They are paid for by Nelson Fiscal Court, which is also funded by city taxpayer money.”

As a result, Bardstown taxpayers end up paying twice for the E-911 service. Royalty said all of the county’s fire departments should all be paying a percentage of the cost of E-911 dispatch.

Though the E-911 bylaws may not offer specifics in regard as to who represents the county fire services, Walker noted the bylaws also do not mention the chief’s association having a role in the process.

City Attorney Tim Butler said he would recommend the makeup of the E-911 board become part of a renegotiated interlocal city-county agreement. In September, the city and county agreed to a one-year extension of the current city-county agreement.

The E-911 board’s bylaws could allow that board to shut the city completely out of having representation on that board, Royalty said.

“It’s not just that I don’t think its fair, but I’m just trying to find the puppet master. I want to find what’s going on behind the scenes and who is working the strings,” he said. “It’s politics at its finest.”

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