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The intergovernmental agreements are
all renewals with Logan County for 911 services, equipment and space
and a lease for the space the Lincoln Police Department occupies in
the safety complex.
The 911 agreements were complicated by
the proposed consolidation of the communications room. If voters
approve a telephone surcharge referendum on the March 16, 2004,
election ballot, the 911 operation will go to a unified (neither
city- nor county-controlled) communications center. So, the new
agreements had to be reworked to allow for that transition if it
happens.
1.
Emergency Telephone System Board agreement for Centralized Dispatch
Service
Under this agreement the city agrees to
enter into agreement with the county to give the ETSB administration
and management of the emergency dispatch and communication center.
The ETSB agreement was passed with the
understanding that several changes will be made to the agreement
before it is signed.
First, there will be no added fees.
Second, the city will be added to the
911 liability insurance policy for as little as $250 or possibly at
no cost.
Under the original and current
agreement the city agrees to pay $42,000 spread over seven years.
This will be restated as $6,000 per year with a seven-year
agreement. The fee is to maintain, repair or replace the equipment
that the city owns in the dispatch center.
Bill Bates, the city's attorney,
suggested at the last meeting that perhaps this fee could or should
be waived if the new proposal passes in which the 911 operation is
no longer separated as city and county. However, Bates said that the
assistant state's attorney, Jonathan Wright, has responded to that
suggestion.
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article]
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Wright said that this is a divided
expense between the city and the county. The city benefits the most
from the use of the 911 service, but the county carries the bigger
bulk of the expense. The city should be willing to continue to pay
their share of the expense.
The council members and Bates agreed
with that explanation.
Another issue was resolved concerning
the potential breakdown of city-owned equipment and getting it fixed
in a timely manner without going through time-consuming council
approval. Most items on the equipment list can be covered by the
police department budget.
However, if there is an expense that is
not covered, it will be submitted by notification of the police
chief for council approval.
2.
Communications room
The city pays $4,800 dollars per year
for their share of the lease on the space the 911 dispatch occupies.
If the new Centralized Dispatch Service
is approved by voters, this lease will be considered null and void.
The city pays $42,000 spread over seven
years, or $6,000 per year, with a seven-year agreement. The fee is
to maintain, repair or replace the equipment that the city owns in
the dispatch. This will continue under the new ETSB agreement if the
911 proposal passes.
3.
Police department (lease of safety complex space)
The city will continue to host the
police department quarters in the safety complex at a rate of
$24,918 for the year.
Police Chief
Rich Montcalm confirmed the accuracy of the amount of space being
used by the city in the safety complex. Alderman Derrick Crane did
some checking and said that the amount of the lease per square feet
along with the Consumer Price Index increases is within the accepted
standard.
[Jan
Youngquist] |
