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Board weighs restructuring 911 into county department amid labor negotiations
Summary
The county chair told the board he will pursue three end-of-term goals, including reviewing a proposal to make 911 a county department. The discussion noted existing 60/40 city/county funding, a pending collective-bargaining negotiation, and potential savings or benefits from reorganizing governance.
At the June 9 meeting the chair outlined three goals for the remainder of his term, prominently including a review of the 911 emergency-dispatch arrangement and whether the service should be reorganized as a county department.
"We're basically looking at and trying to see what... changes to an intergovernmental agreement would look like to make it a county level department," the chair said. He described the current structure (in place since 1988) as an intergovernmental agreement with a 60/40 city/county funding split and said the matter is being discussed alongside a new three-year labor contract for 911 staff.
The chair told members he believed reorganizing could lead to savings, improved benefits for employees, and a cleaner governance structure, but emphasized no decision has been made: "Nothing's going to be decided without it coming before this board and everyone hearing about it." He also said the ETSB (Emergency Telephone System Board) would remain a fiduciary participant in any change and that staff and city officials would be involved in vetting options.
Board members were asked to keep an open mind; the chair indicated further study and staff work would follow. No formal vote, timeline for implementation, or funding reallocation was approved at the meeting; the item appears to be at the study/proposal stage.
