No consolidation: Sikeston to keep its 911 center

BENTON, Mo. -- Talk of consolidating Scott County's three 911 dispatching centers is over for now, as Sikeston has decided its best interest would be served by maintaining its current 911 center.

But the county is still looking for ways to offset losses in revenue from 911 taxes while continuing to provide service. That may mean increasing the fees charged to smaller entities that use the county's dispatching services.

Second District Commissioner Jamie Burger, who will take over as presiding commissioner in January, said Friday that the county will no longer pursue consolidation of 911 centers -- an idea which had been discussed as a way to help offset the revenue losses in the county's 911 tax. The tax is charged to land-line phone accounts, with an average monthly payment of $1.50 for each account.

Between 2004 and 2006 the revenue generated from the tax fell more $50,000, from $238,000 to $182,000. County commissioners believe the decrease is a result of more and more county residents making the switch from land-line phones to cellular phones.

Since both Scott City and Sikeston operate their own 911 call centers, they receive their own taxes to help fund the operations. The county government had been exploring the idea of consolidating call centers, and the funds the two municipalities bring in from 911 taxes, as a way to combat the loss in revenue. But with Sikeston declining the offer, the county will have to find other ways to save money.

Sikeston city manager Doug Friend said consolidation was deemed the wrong move for the city at this time, but didn't count out the possibility for future consolidation.

"At this time we have our stand-alone system, and we've got a sizable investment in that, particularly with a number of video cameras that feed into our dispatch system," Friend said. Sikeston has several cameras positioned around the city for security purposes.

But Scott City is still behind 911 consolidation, said Scott City police chief Don Cobb.

Sikeston's decision leaves county commissioners trying to find other ways to make up for dwindling 911 revenue. The county currently runs dispatching for the county sheriff's department, the South Scott County Ambulance District and other fire and police departments in the county. The ambulance district makes up 31 percent of dispatching calls, while the sheriff's department makes up 58 percent.

The ambulance district pays $17,500 a year for the service. The sheriff's department pays $64,125.

It's still unclear how much the charge would go up, but 1st District Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn asked if the ambulance district could pay two to three times that amount in a county commission meeting on Tuesday.

Smaller local departments, like the NBC Fire Protection District and the Oran Fire Department, aren't charged for dispatching.

Burger said the county commission may try to appoint an independent board to administer the 911 center in 2007 -- a board which may be able to find out other ways to address the problem of increased cost and declining revenue.

In recent years the county has been able to deal easily with the deficit, but not any more, said Burger. That deficit keeps growing. Already expenses for 2006 have reached more than $380,000.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182