By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Members of the 911 governing board representing the two counties served by the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Communications Center still are somewhat at odds over who should pay how much for what, though both counties have mutual problem: coming up with funding to cover the downward trending revenue from landline 911 fees, as increasingly fewer people use landlines.
Rehashes of the same sentiments and questions that have lingered for years — since before most of the current members were on this board — took place for nearly an hour, with little new; however, Metcalfe County Judge-Executive Larry Wilson said his fiscal court had discussed the matter at its meeting earlier in the day and he anticipates they will have a special meeting to make some further determinations in the next week or so. Metcalfe’s county attorney, Sharon Howard, said they have a definite answer on whether the idea of putting a 911 tax or fee on internet services was possible; it is not. So the search continues for other options to increase the revenue so that county can pay its share of the expenses. Wilson said he may also have a town-hall-style meeting on the issue after the fiscal court’s special meeting.
As it stands now, all 911 calls from the two counties go to the BMECC in Glasgow; if a police or fire agency in Metcalfe County is needed, the call is then transferred to a dispatch center there for them to take over. That center employs two people full time and 11 part time, and the potential loss of those jobs has been a sticking point on the concept of simply closing the center there and consolidating into one location. Beverly Harbison, director of the BMECC, currently has two vacant positions in Glasgow.
During the meeting of roughly 90 minutes late Tuesday afternoon, some business was accomplished, though. With only Curt Estes, the designee serving in lieu of the Edmonton mayor, absent, the board unanimously approved moving forward with a budgeted upgrade to the computer-aided dispatch system, mostly hardware, Harbison said. Such upgrades are needed roughly every five years and they’re a little over five years now, she said. The total cost for all CAD positions and all CAD servers was $39,065.39 for Barren County and $25,123.40 for Metcalfe. Later the in meeting, the topic was revisited, and Wilson said he thought it may be best to postpone that upgrade for Metcalfe, though Harbison said that even once she orders it, it would probably be a couple of months before everything arrives.
Invoices for maintenance agreements and/or updates for the mass notification system ($15,409) and for Vertiv uninterrupted power supply system ($5,037.40) that keeps the system going for a little while longer after a power failure were also approved. Both had already been budgeted.
In addition, the board members present voted unanimously to stop making the $1,000/month rent payments to the City of Edmonton, at least for now, for the facility used by the dispatch center there. Linda Wells, who serves as board treasurer, requested that the salary for the part-time accountant, Brenda Leftwich, be increased back to $500 per month, given that things had gotten more complex in recent months with trying to determine billings for Metcalfe County and other related matters. She said it had been $500 once before but at one point, Leftwich herself suggested it be knocked down to $300. Wells’ motion was also approved unanimously.
The purchase of a type of software for $1,000 per year that could be used for trainee tracking and daily observation reports that April Dunbar, BMECC assistant director, had researched and requested was tabled for the time being. Dunbar was absent due to an accidental, nonwork injury, and some of the board members had additional questions about it.
Harbison announced before the meeting closed that a retirement celebration for longtime employee Laura Lee Williams is at 1 p.m. Friday at the BMECC, 118 E. Washington St., Glasgow.
The board regularly meets at 4:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesdays of alternating months, making the next gathering due on Sept. 26, at the BMECC.
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