City, county Commissions discuss consolidating dispatch services
By Brandy Nance
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Chicken and consolidation were on the menu for the first quarterly meeting of 2009 between Emporia City Commission and Lyon County Commission Wednesday afternoon.
Before heading to a conference room in W.L. White Auditorium for fried chicken and all the fixings, both commissioners toured the county and city dispatch offices. One of the recommendations of the Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force was to consider the possibility of consolidating the two offices in an effort to save money. Earlier this year, the task force recommended against consolidating the two law enforcement agencies but did recommend a study of consolidating the two dispatches.
Following a tour of the dispatch centers, commissioners settled in for lunch and further discussion. Emporia City Commissioner Julie Johnson and former co-chair of the Law Enforcement Task Force, which has now disbanded, suggested both commissions visit a county that has a consolidated dispatch to see how things work. Members of both commissions expressed interest in such a tour.
Marshall Miller, former co-chair of the task force and former Lyon County commissioner, spoke about the consolidation.
“You can see the massive amount of equipment that is housed here,” Miller said, referring to the dispatch center. “That’s not getting any cheaper. If you could have one unit working it would save one of the costs for technology ... You have IT people working on it as well. That would not only save personnel but also joint equipment and surely save tax dollars.”
Emporia City Manager Matt Zimmerman said any effort to consolidate needs to be a joint effort and a joint decision.
“We’re not just going to scoop you up...” Zimmerman said. “That’s not our intention.”
No decisions were made regarding consolidation during the meeting — it was focused on discussion only.
In other matters, the two commissions spoke about repairs to the Lyon County Historical Museum. The Lyon County Historical Museum is housed in a city-owned building and the question is which entity is responsible for any repairs of the building. There are several issues with the building including the roof and an ADA access ramp. Commissioners made no decision regarding the repairs and opted to see if there are any contracts in existence for repairs.
madpoet (anonymous) says...
It was my understanding that dispatch did do both city and county at one time. It didn't work out for some reason and they split it. I hope the commissioners check that out before making a decision.
Who pays for their lunches? Us taxpayers? Next time get sandwiches and save us some $$$.
March 12, 2009 at 3:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hickory (anonymous) says...
Just a few years ago they spent a ton of money to consolidate the dispatch centers. They moved everything from the city dispatch to the county dispatch. Could someone tell the commissions why it didn't work out. Because it didn't last long and they spent a ton of money to move everything back to the city again. It seems to me it's a big waste of time.
March 12, 2009 at 5:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SFIns (anonymous) says...
We could also save money by consolidating the two commissions. Eliminate half the commissioners and only pay them the CITY commission rate. This would save around $50,000 to $60,000 per year. Sounds good to me!
March 13, 2009 at 7:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Been done once, it failed miserably, yet they want to do it again......oh yea.
March 13, 2009 at 4:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
Consolodations have been attempted over and over and they just don't seem to work out. There has to be some reason or it would be the norm everywhere. Personally, I think it's a foolish idea. If for nothing else, should either system go down for any reason at all, there is a back-up in place, operating with trained staff, ready to take over until the problem is corrected. Yes, it's expensive but a reliable back-up system is a must. As for combining the commissions, you already have one City commissioner who is deeply involved with County operation. Give it time, they'll all get there before you know it.
March 13, 2009 at 9:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
If they want to try consolidation to save tax money(that they will spend elsewhere hence no savings), why don't they start with the biggest drain on the tax system instead of the emergency services first as it seems they always do? We pay large salaries for the Superintendents of the three school boards, very respectable wages for multiple Principals and Asst. Principals in all three Districts. We have a few schools in the county whose entire student body amounts to two classes in Emporia yet we pay for an entire staff and a 3/4 empty building's expenses. Nobody likes the thought of losing their school, it's often the death of small towns, but it's just not financially responsible to continue spending huge sums of money when consolidation of the schools could greatly reduce the tax burden. Then again, to get this done, we'd have to pay for studies to see how it'd work or not, buy land and pay for engineering of new updated buildings, then there'd be the busing issue.
Never mind.
March 14, 2009 at 11:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )