The City of Jefferson has agreed to pay for public dispatching services.
A 28E agreement between Greene County and the City was recently approved, where the City will pay $25,000 for dispatching services. Until recently, the Greene County Sheriff’s office was providing dispatching services to the City at no cost. Sheriff Jack Williams previously stated that all other cities in the county pay for dispatching services as part of their law enforcement coverage. County Board of Supervisors Chair John Muir says it came down to the sheriff’s office budget. When they originally discussed the issue, the Supervisors talked about the City paying over $55,000 to continue receiving dispatching service, since the City doesn’t have a dedicated dispatcher.
“One of the big topics that came up with discussion on citizens of Jefferson are also citizens of Greene County. If it’s a cost, how are you figuring that cost out. That’s part of the reason we agreed to a number less than what our goal was. I didn’t have a problem with that because it made sense the way we analyzed it. We’ve at least broken the ground to we need to share these expenses.”
The agreement stipulates that the payments be made on a quarterly basis during each fiscal year from July 1st through June 30th. The agreement will automatically renew at the beginning of each fiscal year. Either party can terminate the agreement by giving notice by January 1st. Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn said in a previous Supervisors meeting that would give the County the opportunity to increase the amount that the City pays.
Jefferson City Administrator Mike Palmer says the agreement was a fair outcome for both sides.
“We talked about this last year of what would be a fair amount. There was quite a bit of research done on both sides on what a fair amount would be. We came to the conclusion that $25,000 a year for this first year would be a good way to start out.”
The agreement is effective retroactively to the start of the current fiscal year. To see the full agreement, click the link below.