By Melinda J. Overstreet / Glasgow News 1
The special meeting last week of the 911 Governing Board for the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Communications Center wasn’t quite as lengthy as the one roughly two weeks prior, but it was almost as fruitless.
Discussions have been ongoing off and on for years about how the costs for the dispatch center that receives all 911 calls from both counties should be divided. Any calls for fire or local law enforcement in Metcalfe County are then forwarded to a dispatch center in Edmonton.
Earlier this year, an analysis of revenue and costs and to which county they should be attributed was done for the past five years, and that process indicated that $292,000 that should have been paid through Metcalfe County but was essentially covered by Barren County funds during that time, but some of those figures have been questioned and no agreement has been reached. In the meantime, a committee was assigned to propose any necessary updates to the interlocal agreement among all the governmental entities involved and that are represented on the board – the fiscal courts from both counties and the governments of each incorporated city.
At a previous meeting, a motion was approved that, at the November meeting, Metcalfe County and the City of Edmonton were to decide whether they would pay the monthly statements for their share of the expenses not covered by any revenues from that county; split from BMECC; or combine all dispatching within BMECC.
Through roughly an hour of discussion at that November meeting, Metcalfe County representatives on the board expressed that they weren’t particularly interested in splitting or combining but they weren’t comfortable with paying the statements as presented either. Another meeting was then scheduled for Dec. 15.
Glasgow Councilman and board member Wendell Honeycutt said they had received a letter from Edmonton’s city attorney saying they had no intention of withdrawing, “so I would presume they’re still trying to stay with us …, but they’re still not ready to merge.”
He was actually referring to an email from the Edmonton city clerk/treasurer/administrator that cited their city attorney, Brian Pack, within its contents.
Curt Estes, a member of the 911 governing board for the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Communications Center representing the City of Edmonton, shares his view during Thursday’s board meeting. Melinda J. Overstreet / Glasgow News 1
Pack suggested they need to provide a specific proposal about how all bills are to be split.
There was slight discussion about the timing of paying bills and possibility of having anything specific to Metcalfe County go there first for approval before payment, but then the problems that could occur if equipment fails.
Cave City Mayor Dwayne Hatcher, who chairs the board, asked whether its counterpart in Metcalfe County is “active,” and Curt Estes, a member of both boards, said it is but the Metcalfe one had not met in a couple of months.
Hatcher asked whether the City of Edmonton and Metcalfe County Fiscal Court allocate the funds they contribute – 50 percent each — to that governing board and was told they do.
“Then that’s who we should be billing,” he said, “instead of the city and county. But if they’re not active and meeting, that’s going to be hard to do also.”
Metcalfe County Judge-Executive Harold Stilts said he believes that until any updates to the interlocal agreement are completed, “you have no recourse of sending bills, because it don’t spell out that Metcalfe or Barren is supposed to pay certain portions of this. It’s supposed to be operated with fees from the phone lines.”
Honeycutt said it is, but they don’t cover the full expense of the system, and in Barren County, they’re talking about how to change the fees, so maybe it’s time for Metcalfe County to do the same thing.
“But we can’t pay more than our share because it’s not right and it’s probably against the law, too,” he said.
Hatcher said echoed that in asking whether it’s legal for money from either county to go for the other’s expenses, regardless of which county is in which position.
Stilts referred to the existing interlocal agreement, where it says “the fees will establish, maintain and operate the system.”
Glasgow Mayor Harold Armstrong said that’s all the 911 fees can be used for, though, is maintaining and operating the system.
“If it goes more than that, for what you have to have, you have to come up with extra funds,” he said.
In both counties, almost all the cost of personnel is covered by funds other than 911 fees.
Hatcher asked Stilts whether he would want Metcalfe paying a share of bills that were Barren County’s responsibility.
Stilts asked whether they could prove that Barren County was paying for Metcalfe County’s share, and Barren County Judge-Executive Micheal Hale replied, “I think we did. We did prove that.”
Hatcher added, “to the tune of $293,000” over a five-year period.
Linda Wells, who serves as treasurer, said the board had already voted it was a 60/40 split, and that could be changed if future information shows otherwise.
Stilts, who did not seek re-election and so will not be returning in 2023, and whose successor, Larry Wilson, was also present, suggested that perhaps the new administrations could find some positive solutions. Hale and Armstrong also are not returning.
Larry Poteet, a member of the 911 governing board for the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Communications Center representing Park City, expresses his viewpoint during Thursday’s board meeting. Melinda J. Overstreet / Glasgow News 1
Hatcher circled them back to that motion that had indicated a decision needed to be made in November.
“I will readily say, we’ve got a lot of work to do on the interlocal agreement and several different things to look at, review and see what we need to do, and I am well aware of that, but we have a motion of one of these three options.
As he read the first choice on the list – for Metcalfe County to pay the monthly bills as calculated, Hatcher asked whether that’s an option.
Stilts said, “I can’t wholeheartedly answer that right now.”
He said he’d like to hear from the interlocal agreement committee, and was told there have been a couple of preliminary meetings but nothing is ready to be proposed.
Hatcher continued reading the choices and asking whether they are options, and Stilts said he thought all of them were still on the table.
Estes, also an Edmonton councilman, said they would rather not combine the dispatch centers and have everyone working at one place, but he said it is an option as well.
Hatcher said that if the governing board in Metcalfe County was not going to be active, he didn’t see how they could continue to have two centers.
“It’s obvious; they’re not efficient,” he said, adding that that option seemed the most sensible and the best financially.
“I’ve got 16 days left, and I’m going need to let them decide what they want to do,” Stilts said.
Hale said they shouldn’t have bothered to have that meeting.
Park City Mayor Larry Poteet, who is one of the members of the interlocal agreement committee, agreed, and said they couldn’t force anyone’s hand that night and if they tried, he would leave.
He said the overall group needs to start meeting monthly instead of every other month if that’s what it takes to get it resolved, but the updating of that agreement is the baseline where they need to start, and that’s where it needs to specify how the shares are calculated.
“We can’t fix one without fixing it all,” Poteet said.
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