Ironton Police Department is in no immediate danger of turning over its dispatching duties to the 911 system, Ironton Mayor Bob Cleary said.

Monday, April 24, 2000

Ironton Police Department is in no immediate danger of turning over its dispatching duties to the 911 system, Ironton Mayor Bob Cleary said.

In sixth months, however, with no budget improvement, the facts could be reevaluated, Cleary said.

"There have been no serious negotiations with the county commissioners to do this full-time, but it is something that we’ve looked at," Cleary said. "We’re not looking at doing it currently, but we are exploring the possibilities as a part of daily city business. The budget and possible cuts are always under evaluation."

While Cleary said he doesn’t expect any further cuts at this time –  the police department lost three full-time officers in February because of a dwindling budget –  if the budget does not improve, he is considering the dispatcher cuts.

"Six months down the road, if the situation’s the same, we might look at this possibility again," he said.

Laying off the dispatchers would mean approximately $100,000 more for a budget that is already in trouble. And, as county citizens, Ironton residents pay for the 911 service through the county’s 6.5 percent sales tax.

Dispatcher Jeannine Reed asked commissioners Thursday about the county’s position on the 911 system taking over Ironton Police Department dispatching.

Commissioner George Patterson said the county has never opened any official discussion with the city in the matter.

"The mayor and Patrolman (Jerry) Leach came in here and they discussed the issue, but only in the event that the dispatchers did not work overtime or in the event they had to bring an officer off his beat to dispatch," Patterson said.

In other words, the city wanted to know about 911’s availability to dispatch for Ironton police during times of absolute necessity – not to take over the dispatching, he explained.

The commission took no official action, Patterson said.

"We did discuss that the county commission was not supportive of anything that affected the union contract," he said.

Patterson added that he would not vote to replace city dispatchers with the county’s 911 dispatchers.

Losing the dispatchers would be a blow to the police department, Chief Rodney McFarland added.

"We do depend a great deal on the dispatchers and the service they provide," McFarland said. "They are an integral part of the police department."

The system is now integrated with 911, Cleary said, but the dispatchers’ jobs are secure at this time.

"(The dispatchers) received misinformation that I’m planning to do away with their jobs because we are looking into every department in the entire city to see if, in fact, down the road, there are any additional budget cuts we have to make. It’s just everyday business; we always keep track of all the departments," Cleary said. "The 911 system is an area that is currently dispatching 100 percent of all fire calls, but that is all at this time."

Lawrence County’s 911 dispatchers also are monitoring all phone line and radio transmissions for the city, he said.