Friday, February 13, 2009

Hailey compares dispatch service with Elmore County


By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

Hailey Councilwoman Carol Brown reported to the Hailey City Council and Mayor Rick Davis Monday night on the state of emergency dispatch services in nearby Elmore County, which has nearly the same population as Blaine County, but spends about half as much money as does Blaine dispatching 911 calls.

Hailey has been embroiled in a contentious debate with Sun Valley, Ketchum and Blaine County over how much the city should be required to pay for the newly consolidated emergency dispatch service at the county's public safety facility in Hailey.

"Now I understand why 13 dispatchers are needed in Blaine County," said Brown, who traveled to Mountain Home to learn how other counties provide emergency dispatch services.

Brown was impressed by the amount of coordinated effort involved in dispatching emergency calls to first responders in Elmore County, where dispatch personnel are paid a total of $363,000 per year, compared with almost $900,000 paid to Blaine County dispatchers.

"I would add $100,000 to the Elmore County salaries due to the difference in cost of living between the two counties," Brown said.

Hailey and Bellevue balked at paying a fee to the county based on the projected number of emergency calls from each municipality. Since last summer, the county, its emergency first responders and its municipalities have been looking for a solution to the dispatch-funding debate.

Elmore County is east of Camas County in southern Idaho and is cut through by I-84 between Mountain Home and Glenn's Ferry, a section of highway known for its high number of traffic accidents. Mountain Home Air Force base personnel are used for help with accidents there.

Brown said about 25 percent of 911 calls in Elmore County turn out to be "emergency calls" compared to between 15 and 20 percent in Blaine County. She said the reason Blaine County's emergency dispatch service is far more expensive than Elmore County's is due to the inclusion of an emergency medical dispatch component, which provides medical advice by telephone for people on the scene of an accident or emergency.

"A doctor could talk someone through cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the emergency medical dispatch component," Brown said. "But when a dispatcher is used for this purpose, they can do nothing else during the time they are occupied."

"This is an expensive system, but Blaine County wanted to pay for it," Brown said.

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.