The $24.5 million plan calls for a new phone center, transmission towers and radios.
By Tom Shaw
Copyright 2007 The Omaha World-Herald Company
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Neb. — Leaders in Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County agree that the current 911 system used by urban and rural public safety departments needs to be replaced.
But city and county officials haven’t been able to agree on the scope of the upgrade project or on how future 911 operations will be funded.
If the city and county can’t find common ground, then each will look at having its own 911 system — which could cost taxpayers even more money than the proposal on the table now.
The City Council and the County Board will discuss the impasse at their regular meetings today.
The current plan is to spend $24.5 million for a new 911 center, transmission towers and radios to serve the whole county. That proposal came from a consultant working last year with a committee of city and county officeholders and public safety chiefs.
Of the total amount, a new 911 center could cost about $7 million. Some city leaders, including Mayor Tom Hanafan, question whether a new center should be included in the project.
They argue that a higher cost would make it more difficult to pass the bonds, since the public would have to approve bonds to pay for most of the project. Property taxes countywide would increase to pay off the bonds.
“I just think trying to go out and pass a $20 million bond issue -- it’s a little pricey,” Hanafan said.
The only funding for the project so far is a $3.5 million federal grant. But that grant will be taken back if significant progress isn’t made on a new system by spring 2008.
Last week, the Iowa West Foundation denied the county’s request for a $10 million grant to help fund the 911 project. The foundation is supported by casino and investment income.
County leaders, such as County Board member Loren Knauss and board Chairman Lynn Leaders, contend that negative attitudes from the city toward the project doomed the grant request.
Jerry Mathiasen, a foundation spokesman, said the size of the request exceeded usual awards, and “another factor was the lack of coordination and cooperation that seemed to be evident between the city and county elected officials.”
Douglas and Sarpy Counties have upgraded 911 systems. Those systems, which use 800 megahertz frequencies, allow police officers and fire department personnel to speak directly to each other instead of having to relay messages through dispatchers.
Douglas County voters in 2000 approved a $21 million bond issue to pay for a new 911 system and warning sirens. The county runs the 911 system, and the county and the City of Omaha both provide money for the operation based on population.
Federal rules require that counties have updated 911 systems by 2013.
Knauss said Council Bluffs representatives sat on the committee that recommended the proposed 911 project, including the new center, and that city concerns are surfacing at a time when everyone should be on the same page.
"(The city) helped design this project, and now they’re flipping on it,” Knauss said.
The consultant determined last year, Knauss said, that retrofitting existing buildings in the area wouldn’t work and that a new center was needed. The current center is in the basement of the county courthouse.
City Councilman Matt Walsh said the focus now should be on getting the 911 towers and radios in place. Then talk can turn to a new 911 center.
In addition to the size of the project, city and county officials are debating how 911 operations will be funded.
The city and county now share the cost of operating the 911 system, with the city paying a little more than half the annual $1.2 million cost. However, city council members point out that city residents actually end up paying for the system twice because they are taxed by both the city and the county. That means the city is paying for most of the 911 operation.
Earlier this month, the county proposed that the city phase out its payments for 911 operations over five years and then the county would issue a countywide tax to pay for operations.
City leaders said they liked the fairness of the proposal. However, some want more information on the county’s financing plan and assurances from the county that the city will not have to pay any more money after the five years are up.
But Knauss said that since the grant request from Iowa West fell through, he doesn’t know whether the financing proposal would even work anymore. He said he’s leaning toward having the city pay the county for 911 operations continuing on an annual basis.
An agreement on operation funding is crucial because the county has given the city notice that the county will end the current agreement in July.
City Councilwoman Lynne Branigan said getting an operation agreement is the first priority and then both sides can continue to discuss the size of the 911 system upgrade.
“We are letting the taxpayers down by not resolving this,” she said.