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County staff outlines e911 authority IGA and dispatch governance, confirms shared-cost model
Summary
Staff explained the 2022 intergovernmental agreement creating the county's e911 authority and described its five-member board, which includes the sheriff, police chief, fire chief, the hospital district EMS director and the county emergency manager; the authority oversees dispatch and sets payments using a three-year rolling average of calls.
County staff briefed commissioners on the county's emergency dispatch structure and the intergovernmental agreement that created a separate e911 authority.
Staff said the county entered an IGA in 2022 with the City of Leadville and the Saint Vincent Hospital District to form an e911 authority that oversees dispatch services. The five-person authority includes the sheriff, the police chief, a fire chief, the EMS director from Saint Vincent Hospital District and the county emergency manager, who staff identified as Claire Hathaway.
"That board oversees dispatch. Those the employees in dispatch are county employees," staff said, adding that dispatch employees are county staff but report operationally to the e911 authority. The authority determines annual payments using a three-year rolling average of EMS, fire, police and sheriff calls; the city, hospital district and county contribute funding and an emergency-telephone surcharge on phone bills helps underwrite dispatch.
Why it matters: the IGA centralizes dispatch oversight across primary users to align funding and operations and to support workforce and retention strategies in a demanding job category. Staff said the model has worked well and that the county is collaborating with the authority on retention and staffing.
Ending: staff said commissioners will be provided the IGA and further briefed on dispatch space needs as part of planned facility renovations.
