By Benjamin Lanka and Amanda Iacone
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and the Allen County commissioners on Monday announced a plan to finally merge 911 dispatch centers — but such a consolidation is far from a done deal.
Commissioner Nelson Peters presented the details of a tentative agreement, which would merge the city and county emergency call centers under the control of a joint city-county board.
While Henry and Peters praised the agreement, Commissioner Bill Brown questioned it and Commissioner Linda Bloom did not openly support it.
According to the proposed agreement, the mayor and commissioners would each have three appointments to the board. Those six members would select a seventh member.
Sheriff Ken Fries - a staunch opponent to a merger - arrived 20 minutes into the conversation flanked by his chief deputy and a half- dozen county dispatch employees, and all were dressed in uniform.
He criticized the proposed merger saying it would reduce accountability and hurt public safety - adding he plans to conduct a news conference after such a merger costs people their lives.
“You’re wrong, you’re wrong. People are going to die,” Fries shouted as Henry and his city staffers left the meeting.
Fries called for the plan to be scrapped and questioned the motives for pushing a merger. Any merger should focus on getting a fire truck or ambulance to residents faster, he said.
Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell said he appreciated Fries’ stance but told the sheriff he only represented one public safety agency. Purcell said the proposed board would give everyone a voice in making sure the call center worked well, noting the sheriff, police chief, fire chief and other primary users would likely be appointed to the oversight board.
Fries responded, “They all have a voice, Greg. It’s called an election.”
Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York, in a suit, and Fire Chief Pete Kelly supported the proposed merger. York said he currently doesn’t get involved in personnel issues in the city’s communications department, so he would trust the director of the joint department to handle its employees.
The agreement allows the sheriff, or either chief, to change how their emergency runs are handled without approval of the operations board as long as it does not increase costs - or if the city or county agrees to pay for the increase.
York said he would expect dispatchers to be able to handle city, county, fire and ambulance calls, as they already receive several different types of emergency calls.
The city and county have discussed merging their emergency call centers for years.
The two separate departments are located in the basement of the City-County Building and are separated by a glass wall. The city has pushed for a merged department under the control of a joint board, while county sheriffs have historically claimed they should oversee such a department because they are elected by all county residents.
The issue has dragged on for so long that City Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, proposed cutting the city communication department’s entire budget to force a merger. Pape said he was pleased with the announcement, saying a jointly operated department is in the best interest of everyone.
“I think there’s a lot of reason to be optimistic this is going to result in a combined emergency dispatch,” Pape said.
Pape said still needs to see the details of the agreement and doesn’t know whether he will withdraw his proposed budget cut. The council is scheduled to vote on the city budget today.
Under the proposal, the city would finance 70 percent of the joint department. Purcell said this equals current budget levels for both the city and county departments and is based on call volume in the city and county.
The agreement also says current employees will be retained at salaries and benefits approved by the board. Purcell said this likely would mean county dispatch employee salaries would be raised to city levels.
New Haven also operates a 911 center and would not be affected by the proposed merger, nor would the call center for the Three Rivers Ambulance Authority.
Henry said opinions differ on whether a merger would save money, but he said reducing costs isn’t as important as improving public safety. Merging the centers will improve public safety by eliminating the need to transfer calls between the county and city, reducing delays in responding to emergencies.
“What I’m talking about is time,” Henry said.
The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposal Friday. It must also be approved by the city and county councils. But the county’s various elected officials pose the biggest hurdle to the merger.
Brown questioned the structure of the operating board. Brown urged Henry for an even-number board instead of an odd-number saying that consensus board has served the joint department of planning services well.
But he later agreed with Fries that there needed to be a “single point of accountability” - like an elected official.
Brown has said previously that he wants Fries’ concerns addressed in any dispatch agreement. Bloom said last year that the merger will happen and will benefit the entire community.
Meanwhile, Peters said he hopes he has the votes Friday and at the County Council table. The council could review the pact in November.
Councilman Darren Vogt, R-3rd, said his only concern was that the agreement doesn’t give the County Council an appointed representative on the board. But he didn’t know whether that would spur him to vote against the deal.
Both the county and city councils have previously said they support merging the two dispatch centers. If the approvals go as planned, Purcell said the city and county could begin merging the departments by the start of 2010.
Copyright 2009 The Journal-Gazette