Thursday, October 26, 2017
Lawrenceburg leaders approve amended resolution to extend 911 interlocal agreement
Lawrenceburg Now
Lawrenceburg leaders approved an amended version of a resolution to extend the interlocal agreement that provides for the operation of the local centralized emergency dispatch center.
Members of the Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Council met in regular session Thursday morning where they were asked to approve a resolution on the matter. It would have extended the current interlocal agreement between Lawrence County government and the City of Lawrenceburg through October 16, 2018.
A proposed new interlocal agreement would require that the Cities of Ethridge, Loretto and St. Joseph begin to pay a share of the costs involved in running Lawrence Central Dispatch.
While phone tariffs pay for the operation of the 911 Board, under the previous twenty-year interlocal agreement the county and City of Lawrenceburg have paid all costs associated with the operation of Central Dispatch.
Under the new proposal, Ethridge, Loretto and Saint Joseph would be required to pay several thousand dollars apiece for the services they currently receive. Some leaders have not been fully supportive of the move because the cities would have no representation on the 911 Board.
While council member Chad Moore is the City of Lawrenceburg representative on the board, state law does not require that any of the cities be represented. Appointment of board members is entirely at the discretion of the County Executive.
“I understand that argument,” Mayor Keith Durham explained. “We happen to have a good relationship with the county and they have allowed Chad to be on the board, but the state law says that the County Executive will appoint those positions and its set up as a county entity. So here we’re going to be asking these other entities to contribute with no representation on the board – or they just have to be at the mercy of the County Executive at the time, to get some representation on the board…You can’t control who you’re next County Executive’s going to be… The next County Executive could come in and not have a good relationship with this board and just appoint whoever they wish.”
Durham explained that the three smaller cities currently have no mechanism in place to fund their portion of the dispatch costs. “The problem,” he said, “is that there is no mechanism to-date, right now, today that allows them to spend money. Just like us – we have to be allowed to spend money by some mechanism and that is our budget, typically. So, just to walk up and ask them for $40,000 is not an easy thing to do. In comparison, it would be like asking our board for $400,000.”
Moore explained that, “The 911 Board is attempting to be a good neighbor – but bottom line, they can’t operate under their current funding plan…We’re trying to get some funding in place – but we also know that that may never happen. So for the 911 Board to continue to operate and Dispatch to continue to go on, they feel like the board has to take some steps to ensure longevity so that they can exist.”
Durham said that he agrees that the current system is unfair to Lawrenceburg. “I do feel like the City of Lawrenceburg has been unduly burdened with this particular interlocal agreement for the years it’s been in effect. I’m not in favor of signing an interlocal that looks like this for the future…We have committed to going to Barry Doss, our State Representative. He has agreed to take a private act for Lawrence County to the legislature this year and hopes to put a funding mechanism in place – not just for Lawrenceburg but for Lawrence County as a whole. Then the interlocal wouldn’t even be needed at all. It would be just a county-funded project. We would be a part of that – we would act as Lawrence County citizens here in Lawrenceburg, which is the way it should function.”
Durham did emphasize, “I just wanted this board to know that we’ve had a lot of conversations about how to make this funding work and how to make it fair, and never has any of the other mayors said ‘we’re not going to pay’. So you can understand how some feelings got hurt when certain people in authority have spoken those types of words.”
Durham said that some things that have been said have, “Really been detrimental to relationships.” He pointed out, “We’ve really spent a long time developing relationships with our other cities inside this county. It’s not something that I’m willing to tear down overnight. We’ve got to work together in getting a solution for this.”
Council members voted unanimously to approve the amended resolution, which will extend the interlocal agreement until February 16, 2018. The amended version must now gain approval by the county commission.
