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Saint Clair County considers Leeds joining centralized 9‑1‑1 dispatch under phased eight‑year plan
Summary
County staff and commissioners discussed a proposal for the city of Leeds to transfer 9‑1‑1 call‑taking to Saint Clair County's centralized dispatch. The plan would phase Leeds' phone‑bill revenue to the county over an eight‑year schedule, with early‑hire and budget timing concerns raised; commissioners asked staff for contract language and financial details before a decision.
St. Clair County officials spent a prolonged portion of Thursday's work session reviewing a proposal for the city of Leeds to move 9‑1‑1 call‑taking to the county's centralized dispatch system and for associated phone‑bill revenue to be phased to Saint Clair County over an eight‑year schedule.
County staff and Leeds representatives described a phased arrangement in which Leeds' phone‑bill revenue would shift gradually to Saint Clair County; Blount County — which currently receives some of Leeds' 9‑1‑1 phone‑bill revenue through an intergovernmental arrangement — proposed delaying initial transfers and then stepping up reimbursements over a multi‑year schedule. Presenters described an initial four‑year delay before transfers begin and then incremental percentage increases toward full transfer over roughly eight years.
Staff and commissioners discussed preliminary numbers and staffing needs. County staff cited an estimate of roughly $230,000 per year in revenue from Leeds (figures discussed in the meeting were preliminary and characterized as estimates), and dispatch leadership said the county could begin taking Leeds calls with three additional dispatchers, though commissioners and 9‑1‑1 staff debated whether that would be sufficient versus hiring four. Commissioners also raised concerns about the cost of training and benefits and whether Leeds could make early payments to cover hiring until state funding transfers begin.
"We can start according to what we've looked at with the staffing at central dispatch — we'd start off with three for a while," a county official said; others urged conservative budgeting and asked staff to provide exact cost estimates and contract language before the commission takes action.
Legal and audit mechanics were also discussed. Staff said one path may be a contract and a state 9‑1‑1 board notification that eventually allows the state to route funds directly to Saint Clair County once agreements are in place; commissioners were cautioned that full receipt of all phone‑bill revenue could take several years under the proposed phasing and that Blount County's administrative and audit costs factor into negotiations.
No formal contract was approved at the work session. Commissioners instructed staff to pursue detailed budget numbers and draft agreements and to return with recommendations to ensure staffing and cash‑flow issues — hiring, benefits and training — would be covered if Leeds transitions to county dispatching.
