County ready to move forward with 911 dispatch — with or without the city

 

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, July 5, 2016, 6 p.m. — Judge Executive Dean Watts told Nelson Fiscal Court Tuesday that the county is ready to negotiate a new E-911 agreement with the City of Bardstown.

Watts provided a first draft of a new interlocal agreement Tuesday he said is designed to address some of the concerns the City of Bardstown has raised about the existing agreement and the city’s representation on the dispatch board.

The current agreement governing the joint city-county dispatch service expired last September, but was extended for a year to allow time to negotiate a new one.

The draft was the result of extended discussions with magistrates as well as Bardstown City Council members Fred Hagan, Francis Lydian and Bobby Simpson, Watts explained.

The proposal will revamp the dispatch board by giving the city a total of three representatives on the seven-member board. The city’s appointees include the police and fire chiefs and an additional law enforcement officer appointed by the police chief.

The county’s appointees will include the sheriff or his designee; the EMS director; the chief of the county fire department; and a deputy appointed by the sheriff.

Because the dispatch center will access criminal records databases, by law the dispatch board membership must be at least 51 percent law enforcement.

The draft agreement does not change the city and county’s financial participation — the two governments will split the dispatch center’s costs not covered by 911 funds in a 60/40 split, with the county paying 60 percent and the city paying 40 percent.

The existing 911 fees the dispatch center receives cover about half of its $925,000 annual budget, with city and county governments covering the rest.

While the county is ready to negotiate a new agreement, Watts made it clear in an interview with WBRT that the county is prepared to move forward — with or without the city’s participation.

“If we get to the point where the city does not want to participate with this interlocal agreement, we are moving forward with dispatching,” he said. “I’m not going to play games with people’s lives anymore — like the mayor is trying to do — and we will move forward.”

Funding 911 remains an issue with Bardstown City Hall. Mayor John Royalty says city residents are taxed twice to pay for the 911 service — the first time through their city property taxes, and the second time through their county property taxes.

City Attorney Tim Butler told the city council he is drafting an ordinance that will allow the city to claim the 911 fees that will be generated by the changes to the county’s 911 ordinance. That ordinance removed the 911 fee from monthly landline phone bills and placed it on property tax bills.

But Watts told the court Tuesday he did not believe the city had the right to take the fee and would be prepared to act if the city pushes forward.

“We’re of the opinion that it’s not going to happen if I have anything to do with it” he said.

The city has also discussed it having a majority voting share on the dispatch board — something that the magistrates said was unacceptable.

Magistrate Keith Metcalfe said it didn’t make sense for the county — who pays 60 percent of the dispatch board’s unfunded expenses — to give up control to a 40 percent partner.

The magistrates also discussed what would happen if each agency served by dispatch service paid for the dispatch services on a per-call basis. In that scenario, the agencies who use the service the most will pay more that those who have fewer calls for service via dispatch.

Watts said in that instance, the city would pay more than it current does for dispatch services, since approximately 52 percent of the dispatch center’s calls are city police and fire.

Watts told the magistrates to review the draft and the court will discuss it at a future meeting. Neither Watts nor County Attorney Matthew Hite said they had seen a draft agreement yet from the City of Bardstown.

DEPUTY’S HEROISM HONORED. Nelson County Deputy Sheriff Levi Preston was honored by the court for helping rescue an injured woman from her burning vehicle on June 2. Preston was injured as he helped the woman from the overturned vehicle.

GREEN CHAPEL ROAD REPAIR. County Road Engineer Jim Lemieux told the court that repairing Green Chapel Road would require driving 40-foot railroad ties into the ground vertically and then using guard rail sections to support the roadway and to stop continued erosion that has led to the road surface’s recent failure.

The repair would cover an area of about 250 feet long, and require depths of 14 to 30 feet, he said. The court took no action, but instructed Lemieux to investigate repair costs. Watts said the state has some money available that may help fund emergency repairs like that needed on Green Chapel Road.

HOLIDAY GARBAGE SCHEDULE. Landfill manager Brad Spalding said the holiday will delay garbage pickup in the county.

In other business the court:

— approved final reading of an ordinance to make the county’s alcohol beverage control ordinance match the recent changes in state law.

— approved revisions to the Development Review Board ordinance to streamline the process for applications that meet all of the county’s guidelines.

— approved resolutions seeking grants from the state Homeland Security office for weather sirens and for two power loading systems for county ambulances.

— approved bids for three new trucks — one for solid waste and two for the road department.

— approved ashphalt resurfacing requests to pave Eggen Road for $45,383 and Copperfield Way for $19,965.

— the court also approved appointing Nolin Boone to the Joint City-County Planning Commission.

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