Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dundy County discusses dispatch governance, PSAP funds and communication-center upgrades
Summary
Commissioners debated options for county dispatch governance, including a proposed Control Board and transfer of PSAP funds; the board approved a $69,511.20 transfer from the State 911 fund to the general fund to cover a 911 console purchase and later approved budget transfers affecting the communications center.
Dundy County commissioners and staff spent much of 2023 discussing the future governance and funding of the county’s communication center and PSAP (public-safety answering point) functions.
County Zoning Administrator Pam Reichert and Sheriff Clinton Smith presented competing governance models including a Control Board (a proposed body with at least 51% law-enforcement representation) and arrangements for centralized or cooperative dispatch with neighboring counties. Commissioners and counsel discussed a drafted Control Agreement and temporary transfers to outside counties for emergent cases.
Financially, the board approved Resolution 76-2023-07 to transfer $69,511.20 from the State 911 Fund (2913) to the County General Fund to reimburse or cover costs for a 911 console the county paid in 2022. Later, at the June 20 meeting, the board approved Resolution 76-2023-10 transferring budget authority among general-fund functions, including the Communication Center and other offices, totaling $117,304.27; minutes show the transfers moved budget authority from the Sheriff’s function to other county functions.
Reichert briefed the board on planned infrastructure changes and the need for updated technology; county staff solicited bids and estimates from vendors (Prairie States Communications and others) and discussed funding sources, PSAP legacy funds and design constraints. Commissioners also discussed temporary dispatch transfers and the sheriff’s certification timetable as it related to local control.
What happens next: commissioners indicated they would continue to refine a governance model, explore PSAP fund accounting, and seek bids and funding for the renovation and technology upgrades to the communications center.
