Blaine County officials say they are receptive to a new idea for funding the salaries of emergency dispatchers at the county's consolidated dispatch center.
The proposed payment plan is based on the number of dwelling units in each city, rather than the number of projected calls for service. On Monday, it was unanimously praised by Hailey City Council members, who saw it as a possible means to end a months-long dispute.
"I think this is a huge step in the right direction," Hailey Councilman Fritz Haemmerle said.
The new plan would compute municipal fees for dispatch based on the number of electrical hookups in each town.
The dispute began last summer when Hailey refused to pay a $250,000 bill presented by the county for its alleged share of projected calls for service. Bellevue followed suit, but both cities ended up agreeing to pay about one-quarter of the requested fees so long as their levels of emergency dispatch services were not diminished.
Last November, a countywide vote on a proposed override to property-tax levy rates to raise funding for dispatch salaries failed at the polls. Since then, the county has agreed to pay $402,030 for six of 13 dispatchers it says are required to operate the system effectively. The county agreed to make that payment—plus an addition $70,000 to lease necessary radio equipment—so long as the six other government entities, which include two fire departments, agree to pay for the remaining seven dispatchers, which would cost $502,644.
"We feel like that's fair," Blaine County Commissioner Angenie McCleary said.
McCleary said the county will ask the cities and two fire departments to decide by the end of February if the plan works for them.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
