Thursday, July 15, 1999
Dispatch fees expected to rise without merger
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — Campbell County cities could realize savings if the three police/fire dispatch systems merged, according to county officials, and dispatch charges could increase dramatically without the merger.
Mayors and other city officials who met with members of Campbell Fiscal Court on Wednesday received copies of a draft document outlining possible increases in dispatch charges if the county goes ahead with upgrades of the current system.
“By merging the county dispatch system and the dispatch systems of Newport and Fort Thomas, we could provide a higher level of service at a lower cost,” Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery said.
Officials from Newport and Fort Thomas are meeting with county officials to look at the possibility of conducting a feasibility study on merging the three systems.
The other 13 cities now using the county dispatch system could see their portion of the dispatching budget double or even triple if the county cannot agree on a merger and goes ahead with improvements
to the current system.
The cities each pay a percentage of the expenses of operating the county dispatch system, based on population. For example, Dayton pays about $16,000 annually for county dispatch services, but if the county upgrades the system, Dayton would probably pay about $36,000 a year.
A study of the dispatch system prepared by Campbell County Police Chief David Sandfoss indicates that the total cost of operating the dispatch system without any improvements is $419,000, which includes all police-related functions. If the county goes ahead with the improvements, the annual cost is estimated at $539,000.
Mr. Pendery said the county will not proceed with upgrades “until we see where this (merger) goes. We want an idea of the feasibility of the merger by the end of the year.”
The city and county officials also talked briefly Wednesday about the pending startup of tailpipe emissions testing in Northern Kentucky, and the consensus was that no one liked the idea but there was little that could be done to stop it.
County Commissioner Bill Verst said the level of testing planned for this area “has been proven to have no benefit to humans in reducing levels of air pollution. Basically, we'll be paying for nothing.”
And while the county has called on Congress to declare a moratorium on the auto emission testing, Mr. Verst said “it does no good to antagonize the federal government. There is a very real potential for loss of federal funds if we don't go ahead with the testing.”
headWHAT OTHER
COUNTIES DO
Over the past 20 years, there have been other attempts to create a single dispatch system for Campbell County. But both Newport and Fort Thomas have resisted giving up their own dispatch centers.
Boone County operates a single dispatch facility out of the Florence Government Center for all police and fire.
Kenton County dispatches all fire and police except for Covington, which has its own system.
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