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Columbia 9-1-1 backers urge voters to renew 29¢ operating levy to avoid layoffs and repairs backlog
Summary
Former Columbia 9-1-1 executive and public-safety leaders told Vernonia council they are asking voters to reestablish a 29¢ per $1,000 operating levy to stabilize staffing, fund maintenance and avoid potential layoffs that could follow a 43% hit to the district's operating budget.
Sally Jones, speaking on behalf of Columbia 9-1-1, told the Vernonia City Council on March 16 that the county communications district needs a reestablished 29¢ per $1,000 operating levy to keep its dispatch and radio systems running and to preserve staffing.
Jones laid out the district's history and funding structure, saying voters formed the communications special district in 1989 and that a local option levy has provided part of the budget for decades. "For a house valued at or assessed at $300,000, that translates ... That's $87 a year or $7.25 a month to support your 9-1-1 system," Jones said, asking listeners to consider the levy as low-cost insurance for emergency response. Jones warned that losing the levy would be severe: "43% of your operating budget gone ... that means layoffs," she said.
Fire Chief Greg Grover and other first-responder leaders backed Jones' presentation, describing recent technical and staffing challenges with the county radio system and saying work is underway to audit and repair equipment. Grover described a recent study of repeaters and said dispatchers and responders continue to deliver fast, certified service but that maintenance and interoperability need funding. "We need 9-1-1. You just have to have 9-1-1," Grover told the council, emphasizing reliance on the system in emergency operations.
Jones described how the district has used reserves and grants in the past and said the operating levy is intended for routine operations and maintenance rather than wholesale system replacement; the district will seek federal grants and other funds to fund major replacements. She said the district has about $4,000,000 in an equipment reserve but that a new full replacement would cost far more. The presentation concluded with an appeal for support ahead of the next election cycle.
