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Saint Clair County work session previews change to municipal dispatch fees
Summary
County presenters told commissioners a committee has proposed changing municipal central-dispatch fees to better reflect call volume and rising maintenance costs; officials said cities need the figures quickly to set budgets and that the total municipal increase would be roughly $70,000 for this year.
Chair (speaker 3) opened discussion of central dispatch funding and said a committee submitted a fee recommendation for the commission to consider ahead of next week’s agenda. A presenter (speaker 6) said the proposal shifts the fee allocation toward each municipality’s share of total call volume to “catch up” years when the county absorbed disproportionate increases.
The presenter explained why past flat-percentage increases no longer match costs: “We started out charging too cheap… If we took the total amount of what central dispatch cost and we’ve got the call volume… we could come up with a percent of what their call is,” he said. Staff noted the radio maintenance contract alone will be about $245,000 this year and higher next year, which prompted the review.
Commissioners pressed for timing so cities can complete budgets; staff said they expect to distribute information rapidly and discussed a possible August 1 target for materials to municipalities, though not every speaker confirmed that exact date. The discussion left the recommendation to be placed on the next formal meeting agenda for action, and officials flagged an estimated additional $70,000 in municipal charges under the proposed list.
