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LISBON -- Mixed reactions from fire and police chiefs have yet again halted a decision on a consolidated 911 dispatching center for the county.
County commissioner Tim Weigle brought the issue before the 911 emergency services committee during its Thursday meeting, although the idea of consolidating the five 911 dispatch centers has been in discussion since 2013. Weigle brought the issue back up after Sheriff Brian McLaughlin organized a meeting for public-safety answering point chiefs to discuss their thoughts about the potential consolidation. Despite the meeting, Weigle, who serves as committee chairman, said the issue is still being discussed outside of the committee and he wants everyone involved to weigh in on the decision.
"Is this what we want to do? And if it is, we need to have a consensus on whether we're going to get moving forward on it, so we can see how long it's going to take, how much it's going to cost, and the feasibility of how we're going to do it," Weigle said.
Currently, the sheriff's office and Columbiana, East Liverpool, East Palestine and Salem police departments serve as 911 answering centers for the respective locations. Each department has their own staff of dispatchers, who Salem police chief J.T. Panezott says are a priority in the decision. He said he's not in favor of putting them out of work, but would be in favor of the consolidation if it meant dispatchers being paid more and receiving better benefits.
"I wouldn't be in favor of putting dispatchers out of work, I think they would be treated better with better pay and better benefits. It's obviously become a profession and they're not recognized for that. We need to take care of them," Panezott said. Ultimately, Panezott said there isn't enough information about the consolidation to make a decision. He said there needs to be a study done on the feasibility of it and they need to look to other counties with a consolidated 911 center such as Jefferson and Lucas to figure out how to fund such an endeavor.
East Liverpool police chief John Lane is also concerned about job security for dispatchers as well as the cost and the logistics of the consolidation.
"Do we have a building we're going to do that in or would we have to build something? The initial cost is going to be a hurdle," Lane said. While Columbiana did not have a representative present, it was said during the meeting that police chief Bill Myers is in support of the consolidation. East Palestine also did not have a representative present.
On the fire department side, Highlandtown Fire Department chief Jeremiah Cole said he and other fire departments are in complete support of the consolidation.
"I can tell you, 100 percent, we're on board," Cole said. He said that other than East Palestine, all fire departments in the county have to pay to have another agency, such as the sheriff's office, to dispatch for them. Even if departments have to pay a fee for the consolidated PSAP center, Cole said it would be no money lost for the department since they're already paying for dispatchers.
The committee came to the conclusion that more information is needed and input from every agency is needed before a decision can be made. Weigle said that he and Emergency Management Agency director Peggy Clark and deputy director Brian Rutledge will be taking a deep dive into the issue before anything is decided.
lnickel@mojonews.com