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Priceville seeks 5-year contract for 911 payment
PRICEVILLE, Jun 12, 2009 (The Decatur Daily - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Priceville will pay Morgan County 911 $750 per month, or $9,000 per year, if the town can get a five-year contract at that amount from the agency
The Priceville Town Council voted 4-2 on Thursday night to give Mayor Melvin Duran the authorization to sign the contract.
"We're asking for five years at that amount," Duran said after the meeting. "If they don't agree, we'll have to renegotiate."
In a letter to the council in February, Morgan County Emergency Management Communication District Chairman Thomas Barry said that if the town has not entered into a contract by Oct. 1, the agency "regrettably will be forced to discontinue dispatching for the Priceville Police Department."
The agency has never charged Priceville or Trinity during more than seven years of dispatching police and answering non-emergency calls after hours.
In September, 911 Manager Gordon Neihardt said the agency had lost revenue for landline surcharges because so many people were giving up those lines for mobile phones. He said surcharges on telephone bills cover 911 equipment but not dispatching.
Duran and Councilmen Charles Black, Tommy Perry and Larry Waddell voted for the proposal. They said they thought 911 was better equipped to serve the town and would be better positioned to do so in the future.
"I think it's best for the town," Duran said. "They've done a good job, and I don't see a need to switch. We'd have to do it ourselves or get the Sheriff's Department to do it for us."
Councilmen Sam Heflin and Donald Livingston voted no, saying that 911 officials had told them they would never charge the town. The idea of the Morgan County Sheriff's Department dispatching police calls appealed to them.
Trinity Mayor Vaughn Goodwin said Thursday that 911 has offered to handle Trinity's police calls for the same amount.
"They did not mention a five-year contract," he said. "I understand that's Priceville's proposal. We haven't gotten back to them. Earlier, I said that if we're going to start paying for a service, we need representation on the board."
Goodwin said he previously asked for information about how the agency set up the board.
"I'll just have to get with the council and talk about the issue as a group," Good said. "We've got until Oct. 1."
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