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Mayors press county for clearer math after central dispatch fee hikes floated
Summary
Mayors from multiple St. Clair County cities pressed commissioners for transparent numbers and a fair allocation method after staff signaled increases to central dispatch fees; mayors asked the county for detailed cost breakdowns and a predictable formula tied to call volume or population.
Mayors representing several St. Clair County municipalities urged the county commission to provide clearer figures for proposed central dispatch fee increases and to agree on a fair method for sharing costs.
"We, we 1st heard that it we it was being discussed that it was gonna have to go up by 10%," said Mayor Rusty Jessup, who told commissioners city clerks had been "buzzing" about the conflicting numbers. Jessup and other mayors asked staff to share the county's detailed dispatch-cost figures so cities can budget and explain the increases to police and fire personnel.
Commissioners and staff said one operational sheet showed $3,000,382 while other internal totals (compiled by county staffers Freddie and Matt) were closer to $3.8–3.9 million when capital and indirect costs are included. Commissioners emphasized that some funds — particularly certain 9-1-1 dollars — are legally restricted to call-taking infrastructure and cannot be repurposed for general dispatch operations.
Mayors pressed for predictability and proposed either an annual modest percentage (for example, a CPI link) or an allocation based on call volume, population or a hybrid that cities could review before budgeting. Chair said staff will circulate the figures and that the commission intends to meet with the mayors' association in May to develop a more predictable schedule.
The discussion informed but did not block later votes to adopt FY27 dispatch fees and the municipal cooperative funding resolution.
