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Visitor who lobbied in Des Moines warns supervisors about proposed 911/PSAP changes
Summary
A visitor reported lobbying in Des Moines on a bill to replace 911 service boards with local emergency management commissions and to create a PSAP per county; he urged the board that the sheriff should not automatically be named the responsible PSAP official, and supervisors discussed monitoring and potential advocacy.
A visitor to the Feb. 10 meeting told supervisors he had travelled to Des Moines to lobby on a proposed bill that would replace existing 911 service boards with local emergency management commissions and create a primary public safety answering point (PSAP) for each county.
The visitor said the draft bill named county sheriffs as the responsible PSAP official and recommended instead that local emergency management be the lead agency. “It really shouldn't be that. It should be local emergency management established as a lead agency,” he said, adding that sheriffs are elected officials and might not be present daily to manage PSAP operations. Board members agreed there could be pushback in more urban counties and said they would monitor the legislation and coordinate with stakeholders if necessary.
The board took no formal position at the meeting; supervisors and the visitor agreed to continue tracking the proposal and its potential implications for county emergency communications.
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