Commission work session backs notifying cities about proposed dispatch fee changes as radio, maintenance costs climb

County commissioners and staff at a St. Clair County work session reviewed recommendations to change how municipal dispatch fees are calculated and discussed one-time and ongoing costs tied to the county's radio system.

Chair (Speaker 3) opened the engineer's report and said commissioners need to decide whether to place the fee recommendation on the next formal agenda. Engineer and public-safety speakers emphasized that years of modest, flat percentage increases have left the dispatch program undercharged as call volumes and maintenance obligations have grown. "This has been going on for 30 years now," the Chair said, urging a more transparent allocation of costs to municipalities.

Staff outlined that the Motorola maintenance contract alone will be roughly $245,000 this year and indicated it could rise to about $265,000 next year. The group said they are considering a formula that uses total call volume per municipality rather than a uniform percentage increase, to better match fees with service usage. "We need to get the information to municipalities as soon as possible because they're doing a budget also," Chair (Speaker 3) said. Commissioners discussed aiming to provide municipalities data quickly so cities can include changes in their FY budgeting cycles.

No formal vote was taken during the work session; staff said the matter will be placed on the next Tuesday agenda for possible action. County staff and emergency-services representatives asked the commission to decide whether to include a recommended effective date and whether to lock vendor prices, both of which will affect municipalities' near-term budgets.