COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A public hearing on an amended E911 service plan for Branch County has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon before the regular meeting of the Branch County Board of Commissioners.
At stake is control of how 911 services are handled in the county.
The 911 Board’s plan would have the County Board provide fiduciary oversight to them. All administrative and operational activities including the hiring of staff would be the responsibility of the 911 Board.
The County Board would also either adopt or reject the annual budget as submitted by the 911 Director. Once the budget is adopted, the 911 Board has the authority to expend the funds on operational objectives including the hiring of staff without receiving County Board approval.
The proposal comes after Branch County Central Dispatch faced a shortage of five dispatchers in July. A temporary fix was bringing some dispatchers out of retirement. There has been a lot of grumbling about starting salaries for Branch County dispatchers when compared to neighboring counties.
Under a plan backed by the county, the Board of Commissioners would appoint a 9-1-1 Coordinator/Operations Manager who would be responsible for establishing services required, administrative operations, and working with the 9-1-1 Advisory Committee or “Communications Board” in preparing budgets and procedures for approval by the Board of Commissioners.
The County plan states that all decisions regarding the appointment and hiring, removal, compensation and duties of the 9-1-1 Coordinator/9-1-1 Operations Manager will be the responsibility of the Branch County Board of Commissioners including the setting of wages and fringe benefits.
