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City discusses intergovernmental
agreement for Emergency Management and 911 Dispatch
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 [March 15, 2019]
On Tuesday evening the Lincoln City Council at their Committee of
the Whole meeting heard from Logan County Sheriff Mark Landers and
Lincoln City Police Chief Paul Adams regarding an issue already
addressed by the Logan County Board.
On, Tuesday March 5th, in a special voting meeting of the LC Board,
the decision was made for the county to back out of the current
intergovernmental agreement for the operations and oversight of the
911 Dispatch Center located at the Logan County Safety Complex.
This does not mean that services to the Logan County community will
be interrupted. The change is being made due to recent updates of
state statutes regarding 911 oversight and the management of the
Emergency Telephone System according to the Emergency Telephone
System Act.
This week Landers and Adams reviewed the decision of the Logan
County Board and requested that the city also back out of the
agreement.
Landers and Adams both commented that around the state, the 911
dispatch is managed by the county sheriff departments. With current
Logan County Emergency Management Agency Director Dan Fulsher
preparing for retirement in the next few months, now is a good time
for the city and county to get in line with common practices around
the state.
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Adams noted that the city is paying a lot of money for the annual
agreement for emergency management agency and 911. He said with the
city and county both backing out, the 911/ETS will be reorganized.
He said then, the city will be in a position to renegotiate the
annual fee for the services. He added that this should equate to
significant cost savings.
According to the meeting held at the county level, the city and
county both paid $242,293 in 2018 for the services.
The county meeting had been attended by city representatives
Alderman Ron Keller and City Administrator Beth Kavelman. Both
agreed the city should take the same action as the county and back
out of the intergovernmental agreement.
The county board meeting report published in Lincoln Daily News on
Friday March 8th and Saturday March 9 offers more detail than what
was discussed in city council on Tuesday night.
To get a better picture of the changes taking place refer to the
county board story.
The city council is expected to vote on this topic at the Monday,
March 18th meeting.
[Nila Smith] |
