Mayors Press County Over Rising Dispatch Costs; Commission Approves FY2027 Dispatch and EMA Fees

Municipal leaders from Riverside, Moody, Springville, Argo and Margaret pressed St. Clair County commissioners on July 28 for clearer explanations of recent increases in municipal dispatch fees, saying the changes strained city budgets.

Riverside Mayor Rusty Jessup asked for confirmation "of the costs to cities and how the county came up with the amounts," and Moody Mayor Nick Rutledge said he did not believe the new figures were obtained fairly. Springville Mayor Austin Phillips asked for greater transparency and warned that reduced municipal cooperative funding would force budget revisions. Commissioners noted the overall increase averaged 21.6% across municipalities, a figure Commissioner Bob Mize cited during the meeting.

Operations Administrator Freddie Turrentine presented the FY2027 municipal contract and fee schedules for Central Dispatch and EMA. After discussion, the commission approved the FY2027 municipal contracts/fees for Central Dispatch and EMA as provided by Turrentine (motion recorded and approved by the commission). The commission and municipal leaders agreed to continue working together on budget impacts and to seek clearer documentation of cost allocations.