Watts weighs in: City fire chief is a permanent E-911 board member

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016 — Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts weighted in Wednesday on the debate about the Bardstown Fire Chief’s membership on the E-911 Dispatch Board that is funded partly by city and county governments.

JUDGE-EXECUTIVE DEAN WATTS

In a letter sent Wednesday to E-911 board chairman Fred DeWitt, Judge-Executive Dean Watts said the City of Bardstown fire chief should be one of the two dispatch board’s fire service representatives. That was the original intent when the dispatch board was created, Watts wrote, referring to board minutes from May 17, 2006 that indicate that intent.

“For anyone to think differently is purely arbitrary and irresponsible,” Watts wrote in the letter. “The City of Bardstown is an important team member to the board.”

The question about who should represent the county fire departments on the E-911 board first arose Tuesday afternoon at the county fire chief’s meeting. The discussion continued at the E-911 Dispatch Board meeting which followed the chief’s meeting.

The dispatch board includes four law enforcement members, two fire service members, and one EMS representative. By law, the dispatch board membership makeup must be at least 51 percent law enforcement.

Dispatch board chairman Fred DeWitt said Tuesday the board’s bylaws don’t spell out who the fire service representatives should be. DeWitt is one of those representatives, and has served on the board since it was created. The other fire service representative has always been the chief of the Bardstown/Nelson County volunteer fire departments.

• See related story: Dispatch board fire service representation an issue on city council’s radar
• Click here to read Judge-Executive Dean Watts’ letter.

DeWitt said that since the bylaws don’t specify the city’s fire chief has to be on the board, he was of the opinion that fire service seat could go to another fire chief.

CHIEF RANDY WALKER

Bardstown Fire Chief Randy Walker told the Bardstown City Council Tuesday night that he spoke at both the chief’s meeting and the 911 board meeting, and that he told both boards he believed the original intent when the board was formed was for the city fire chief to be a member.

The City of Bardstown helps fund the dispatch center, and the city fire department has the greatest number of calls for service in the county, Walker told the council. The signature sheet on the E-911 board bylaws has a signature line for the city fire chief, he said, and that was additional proof of the board’s original intent to have the city fire chief on the board.

Council members and Mayor John Royalty agreed with Walker, particularly since the city helps fund the dispatch board along with county government.

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, he said, adding that he believes 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.

Royalty said he was concerned that DeWitt’s interpretation of the dispatch board bylaws could allow the E-911 board to shut the city completely out of having representation on that board.

“It’s not just that I don’t think its fair, but I’m just trying to find the puppet master,” Royalty told the council Tuesday night.

“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.”

-30-