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Commissioners approve $335,228 transfer to Austintown for dispatch transition and award countywide siren maintenance contract
Summary
The Mahoning County Board of Commissioners on March 13 authorized a one-time transfer of $335,228.63 to Austintown Township to support the county dispatch center and awarded a three-year, $50,000-per-year maintenance contract for the county’s 52-siren emergency warning system.
The Mahoning County Board of Commissioners voted March 13 to authorize a one-time transfer of $335,228.63 from the general fund to Austintown Township to support the county dispatch center and to approve a three-year maintenance contract for the countywide 52-siren emergency warning system with B & J Electric of Poland, estimated at $50,000 per year.
During the meeting an Austintown representative (identified only by first name, Yvonne, in the record) said Austintown dispatches “for, like, 80% of the county” and that the transfer will help affected townships offset increased call volumes and staffing costs while budgets are adjusted for 2026 rates. "So we have, obviously, calls that we take on for Springfield, Berlin, pretty much all the townships in the in their county," the speaker said.
Commissioners and meeting participants discussed the importance of maintaining 911 coverage and noted recent investments in phone-based alerts and FEMA-supported notification systems as complements to sirens. The transcript records praise for dispatch staff and the county’s emergency-notification efforts; those remarks were made in the public-discussion portion of the meeting and were not presented as formal policy changes.
The resolutions authorizing the transfer and awarding the siren-maintenance contract were presented as county business and approved by roll call; the recorded votes show the commissioners present voting "yes." The record also notes the county submitted its emergency-operations plan for state review and sought adoption of an updated plan required every five years; that plan was presented to the commissioners and included in the resolutions adopted that day.
The transfer is described in the meeting record as transitional funding to allow townships and dispatch partners to adjust budgets and set appropriate billing for ongoing dispatch services. The maintenance contract is described as routine upkeep for the county’s emergency siren network.
