SCOTT CITY ASKED TO RECONSIDER 911 CONTRACT WITH SCOTT COUNTY

BENTON -- Parts of Scott City's 911 contract with Scott County are being questioned by members of the county's 911 advisory committee.

Major points involve the distribution of a 15 percent surcharge on basic telephone bills for emergency 911 service and Scott City's representation on any 911 advisory board.

Discussion began Tuesday between Scott City officials, the Scott County Commission and the advisory committee over some sticky points in the contract.

The county commission signed the contract with Scott City the week before the Nov. 8 election. The contract, which allows Scott City to keep its 911 service, was approved by the Scott City Council Nov. 7.

The 911 vote on Nov. 8 was overwhelmingly in favor of the emergency telephone system throughout Scott and New Madrid counties. The advisory committee in both counties is considering a joint operation of an Enhanced-911 system over the entire area.

Scott City Administrator John Saxton said Tuesday's discussion was initiated by the county commission after advisory committee members questioned some of the contract's provisions.

One provision of the contract gives Scott City 20 percent of the representation on any 911 advisory board to be appointed by the county commission. The contract says Scott City's representatives on the board can be appointed by the mayor.

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan told the Southeast Missourian that provision was placed in the contract to ensure representation for the city, which is the second largest in the county. He also said Scott City already has developed its own 911 system, and those experiences could be beneficial on an advisory committee.

Mike Westrich of New Hamburg, a member of the 911 advisory committee and chief of the NBC Fire Protection District, said the problem with the provision is that members on an advisory board should not represent any particular city. In addition, since the plan is to develop a joint system with New Madrid County, the county commission in each county should make the appointments, he said.

Another provision of the contract says the county will turn over any revenues from the 15 percent surcharge on Scott City residents to the city within 10 days.

Westrich said the advisory committee thinks it would be better to exclude those revenues from the county collection process. That way, he said Scott City would continue to directly receive the revenue that voters had approved for their own 911 system.

Everyone wants Scott City to be able to keep its 911 service, Westrich said. At the same time, he said, it is the advisory committee's responsibility to ensure that any outside agreements do not interfere with what will be a premier 911 system in both counties.

"Our goal is to put together a package for both counties that will be second to none," Westrich said. "Scott City wants to protect its system and we want to protect ours also."

With the discussion, Westrich said he hopes an agreement can be reached that will benefit everyone while allowing Scott City officials to continue to do what they want with their 911 system, which went into operation in November 1993.

Forhan said the contract with the Scott County Commission was closely examined by both parties before it was signed. He said it assures the city of having 911 service. He said any contract changes would have to be approved by the full council, which is scheduled to meet again Monday night.