Friday, October 3, 2008

Voters to consider dispatch funding strategy

Approval of property tax override requires two-thirds majority


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

On Nov. 4, Blaine County voters will decide whether raising their property taxes is a fair way to pay dispatcher salaries at the county's new consolidated dispatch center in Hailey.

Proposition 2, known as the dispatch center override, would raise an additional $835,000 per year for operational expenses at the dispatch center, which is managed by the Blaine County Commission. Approval of the permanent override to county property tax levy rates will require a two-thirds majority of voters checking "yes" on the ballot initiative.

For county homeowners, the levy override would mean an extra charge of $6.71 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Based on the county's median home value of $436,000, that would add an extra $29.25 in property taxes per year.

In July, county officials agreed to a request from Hailey leaders to have county voters consider the override this November. If approved, the dispatch override measure would not begin paying for dispatcher salaries until 2010. Until that time, the county and local cities will have to fund the salaries out of their own budgets.

Under a proposed dispatch-funding strategy developed earlier this summer by county officials, 12 dispatchers will be hired to staff the new county dispatch center during the 2009 fiscal year, which began this week on Oct. 1.

Having 12 dispatchers will allow for a third dispatcher to be on shift during what's been called the "power shift" on Fridays and Saturdays when the highest call volumes typically take place, Blaine County Administrator Mike McNees has said.

Should the permanent levy-rate increase fail at the ballots, the disagreement that began with Hailey leaders' saying they couldn't provide all of the funds requested of them by the county will almost certainly proceed to mediation, local elected officials have agreed.

One significant question mark is whether homeowners from the north county—especially in Ketchum and Sun Valley—will agree to increase their property tax rates. Elected officials from these locations have questioned whether the levy override favors south valley residents and places the larger funding burden on north county homeowners.

A similar dispatch funding disagreement landed the cities of Kimberly and Buhl in mediation with Twin Falls County after they refused to provide funds to help pay for dispatcher salaries. In the end, Kimberly and Buhl agreed to help fund the dispatcher salaries. Sun Valley City Councilman Nils Ribi has said a similar outcome could happen locally.

"I think that's a real reasonable approach to solving this," he said.

On Wednesday, Blaine County Emergency Communications Director Bob Greenlaw was quick to point out what has been a common misconception in the dispatch funding debate. He said he's heard from many people who believe the cost of emergency dispatch in the county has increased recently. The costs have actually dropped, Greenlaw said. Last year, the two dispatch centers that existed in the county—one run by Ketchum and the other by the county—merged into a single consolidated center in Hailey.

Greenlaw said that has allowed a drop in the number of countywide dispatchers from 18 to 12, and the overall funding levels to decrease by 20 percent. The county has asked the cities of Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue, as well as the Carey Rural Fire and Rescue and Wood River Fire and Rescue districts, to help them shoulder these new costs during 2009.




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