Title
RESOLUTION NO. 2257: APPROVING NEW 911 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER GOVERNANCE ORGANIZATION
COUNCIL STRATEGIC INITIATIVE ADDRESSED:
Enhance public safety and emergency response
CITY ATTORNEY REVIEW: REQUIRED
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Since last June the E-Board and the 911 Council for the Cowlitz County Communications Center have held several individual and combined meetings to consider and review the initial steps in establishing a new governance structure for the communications center.
The reason for undertaking consideration of a new governance structure could be summed up as a general dissatisfaction among user agencies with the existing structure. The interlocal agreement (ILA) that is the basis for the existing structure dates back to 1991 and has been amended on multiple occasions since then. Under that agreement and current practices for operation and oversight of the center, the E-Board, 911 Council, and the Board of County Commissioners all have certain responsibilities and authority; there is also a Combined Users Committee representing law enforcement and fire/EMS responders that provides feedback to the center director about day-to-day dispatch operations and makes recommendations about service levels and performance standards.
The responsibilities and authority among these groups overlap and have evolved to the point that some of what is provided for in the agreement is not practiced in reality today. The communications center is a county department staffed with county employees and located in a county building, and the county’s view is that the county commissioners are the ultimate decision makers for the budget, facilities, personnel, policies, procedures, and operations. For some, the existing governance model is not only convoluted but also inappropriate because decisions made by the groups that have representation from the other parties to the ILA who pay most of the costs to operate the center are subject to modification by the commissioners.
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