City council safety committee hears details of KSP 911 dispatch proposal

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Monday, April 25, 2016, 8 p.m. (Added meeting video April 26, 2016, 10 a.m.) — The Bardstown City Council safety committee got its first look at a proposal from the Kentucky State Police to take over dispatching services for the city’s fire and police departments.

The safety committee addresses issue that arise with the city police and fire departments, though asking the state police to take over dispatching was never a topic the committee discussed before Monday’s special meeting.

Mayor John Royalty explained to the committee his decision to keep the KSP proposal confidential until the meeting.

Mayor John Royalty acknowledged that in February he asked KSP to put together a proposal for the dispatching services. His intent was never to mislead the public or other elected officials.

Funding discussions with Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts have continued several months, Royalty said. “As of today, I have not received any idea of knowing where he’s going to get his funding, or how we’re going to do it this to be fair to the citizens of Bardstown.”

He said he made the decision to keep the conversations regarding the KSP dispatching proposal confidential. “I’m very adamant about keeping things confidential when they have to be,”  he said.

Larry Green, the city’s assistant administrator, gave the committee a review of the  KSP dispatch services compared to those currently provided by the joint city-county 911 dispatch center.

The city has been told that its share of the 2016-17 dispatch budget will be $250,000, Green said, adding that Nelson Fiscal Court has not decided on how it will handle the dwindling landline 911 fee it has discussed most recently of moving to county residents’ garbage bills. The lack of a decision on the county’s part means the city’s dispatch expenses may go higher, he said.

The KSP proposal includes one-time costs of $38,700 in hardware, software and data collection and entry. KSP’s cost to dispatch city police and fire are estimated to be $157,200 annually, Green said. The annual costs include $144,000 in personnel costs, $13,200 for communications costs, including maintenance of a T-1 digital communications line.

Councilman Bobby Simpson makes a point during the discussions at Monday’s safety committee hearing.

Communications between Bardstown city and fire units will be relayed to the E’town KSP post by a high-speed digital line. Should that link fail, a secondary radio link will be available. KSP’s computer-aided dispatch software is also more current than the local dispatch center’s software, Green explained. Nelson County Dispatch plans a dispatch software upgrade in the next couple of months.

Green said that while the numbers make it appear the KSP offer is substantially cheaper than the cost of remaining part of the joint city-county dispatch operation, the county’s lack of a decision on its 911 fees means that there’s not enough information to base a decision.

Discussion about the merits of the proposal led to several loud exchanges between committee chairman Councilman Bill Buckman and Councilman Francis Lydian.

Lydian told the committee he wasn’t in favor of outsourcing the 911 dispatching, even if the costs to do so were less expensive. If there are complaints about the dispatching service, they should be put in writing and presented to the dispatch board, he said.

Simpson asked if the council could take the KSP numbers and meet with county government. Lydian agreed, saying that member of both governments should get together and discuss the issue.

Councilman Bill Buckman — a retired City of Bardstown police officer — told Lydian that he’s worked with three police chiefs who have complained about communications and nothing gets done. He told the committee that in his experience, the quality of the dispatching “is about as bad as it gets.”

“I’ve been out there on the streets and I can’t even get dispatch to answer me from the parking lot,” he said in a raised voice. “the reception is that bad.”

“I’m down in a ditch on Maple Hill fighting for my life and I’m screaming on the radio and no one hears me,” he said. “It’s been a running joke that I’d rather have a tin can and a string.”

Buckman said dispatchers could be found using social media or playing games on their dispatch computers while on duty.

“We’re not getting the service we need, and we’re not getting the service we pay for,” he said. “And they’re going to ask us for more money to do it?”

Lydian said he hasn’t heard complaints about the dispatching. Buckman said complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears and didn’t do any good.

In addition to the lower costs that the KSP proposal offers, Green said the quality of the 911 dispatching is a factor in lower the city’s ISO fire protection rating.

The city currently has an ISO rating of 5 out of 10 points. A lower rating can translate into lower property insurance premiums for property owners.

Fire Chief Randy Walker and the city fire department is working to improve the city’s fire protection in order to secure a lower ISO rating — a 4 or possibly a 3, Green said.

The quality of the dispatching for emergency services is rated as part of the fire protection survey, and higher quality dispatching will help achieve the lower rating.

The ISO survey also looks at the number of dedicated 911 phone lines a center has, and the number of dispatchers on duty, he said.

Nelson County Dispatch has two dispatchers on duty at various times of the day, while KSP has promised to make sure three are on duty if the city accepts the proposal.

Councilman Bobby Simpson began to discuss his concerns with the proposal, but was asked to hold his concerns about procedures and protocols for Tuesday’s council meeting.

Kathy Graham, the mayor’s executive assistant and committee secretary, reminded the committee that the discussion in the special-called meeting could not vary from the published agenda.

NEXT UP. The dispatch discussion will continue at Tuesdays’ Bardstown City Council meeting at 7 p.m. in the council chambers on Xavier Drive next to the Bardstown Rec Center.

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