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LISBON -- The Columbiana County 911 Program Review Committee reviewed the county's updated final 911 plan Thursday, but a vote to approve it won't happen until 8 a.m. Feb. 29.
That's because some numbers still need to be filled in for annual operating costs of the five Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).
County Assistant Prosecutor Krista Peddicord advised that before taking a vote, the committee needs to see the final version of the final plan that's going to be sent out to all the subdivisions. She didn't feel comfortable having them take a vote during the afternoon meeting since not all of the information was included.
County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director and 911 Coordinator Brian Rutledge said he'll get them filled in and get copies of the finished plan to the six members of the Program Review Committee before that next meeting. The numbers were coming from the governmental agencies that operated the five PSAPS: the county sheriff's office, and Salem, East Liverpool, Columbiana and East Palestine police departments. The numbers represent the costs of dispatchers and utilities each of those entities must pay for their 911 location. Those costs are shouldered by those communities, not county 911.
Once the Program Review Committee approves the plan, then the plan must be sent out to the commissioners, the largest city Salem and the rest of the subdivisions in the county for their approval. For passage, Salem and the commissioners must vote in favor of the plan, along with 60 percent of the remaining subdivisions.
The plan then must be submitted to the state by April 3. Peddicord recommended getting the plan out to the subdivisions March 1 since the timeline is so tight.
"The state virtually gave us no time to get this done," Commissioner Tim Weigle said.
Weigle is one of the members of the Program Review Committee, along with Sheriff Brian McLaughlin, Salem Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey, St. Clair Township Trustee James Sabatini, Madison Township Trustee Wayne Chamberlain, and East Liverpool City Councilman Jeff Kreefer.
As part of the plan, a narrative will be submitted describing the details about the county 911 operation, including the fact that the communities which have a PSAP are responsible for costs such as staffing, facilities, utilities, insurance, supplies and miscellaneous other costs.
The narrative includes the breakdown of representatives for the advisory committee, previously known as the 911 Emergency Services Committee, which includes emergency responders and officials.
Peddicord said the plan doesn't have to list the specific names of the committee members, but the committee members should be selected by the 911 Program Review Committee. Most are already in place because they've been part of the 911 Emergency Services Committee.
A new state law passed in the fall required the naming of the six-member 911 Program Review Committee to include a representative of the county commissioners; an elected county official; the chief executive officer of the most populous city, which would be the Salem mayor; a trustee from the most populous township in the county, which is St. Clair Township; a trustee selected by the majority of trustees in the county; and a municipal legislative authority representative selected by the majority of municipalities in the county.
The new committee agreed to keep the Emergency Services Committee in place as an advisory group.