Hays Post
The Ellis County Emergency Communications Center is about to get a much-needed upgrade.
At Monday’s Ellis County Commission meeting, the commission approved the purchase of nearly $800,000 worth of communication equipment. The new equipment will bring Ellis County’s dispatch center up to date and give the county the possibility to serve as a regional 911 center.
Ellis County Director of Fire and Emergency Management Darin Myers said they have been saving money received from a special tax on cellphone bills to pay for the equipment upgrades, meaning no property tax dollars will have to be spent on the project.
“Senate Bill 50 (SB50) money was introduced in 2011,” Myers said “It’s based off a certain percentage for every cellphone bill that is billed to Ellis County.”
Myers said currently Ellis County receives 97-percent of that money, or 60-cents per bill. The population of each county determines how much money the county gets back. The larger the population, the smaller percentage the county receives in return.
The fees received from SB50 can only be used for certain things involving 911 emergency services, which include the purchase of 911 equipment and upgrades.
According to Myers, the county has saved all the money it has received from the SB50 fund since it was passed in 2011 and have nearly $820,000 saved in the NG911 fund.
“That money can only be spent on this type of equipment,” said Myers.
The total cost of the equipment upgrades approved at Monday’s meeting is $789,629.25.
The upgrades include four and a half new dispatch consoles for the communications center in the basement of the law enforcement center, the call-taking software for the consoles, call logging equipment and upgrades to the Springhill Tower site.
The commission gave the approval – 3-0 – to purchase the consoles and tower site equipment at the end of this year for $599,304. The commission voted 2-1 to purchase the consolettes, the call recorder and the desksets – which are hardwired desk phones that can be used as radios for $187,325.55. Commissioner Dean Haselhorst voted against the purchase of the desksets.
According to Myers, the desksets would be used in the case of a major disaster and can be used anywhere there is an internet connection, but Haselhorst said they might never get used, although Myers said the desksets can be placed on people’s desk in the office and used in place of the radios.
Haselhorst also expressed frustration with the fact the county will buy new radios in the future. Myers said all the radios they currently have will still work with the new system, but they will have to continue buying radios because the hardware will be out of date. The county cannot use the SB50 money to buy radios, but Myers said they can use the money saved by using the SB50 funds to buy new radios.
The county plans to have all of the equipment arrive at approximately the same time so they can install the upgrades at one time.
The upgrades will allow Ellis County to serve as a regional 911 center in the case of an emergency. The county then could handle calls for any county that is on the state’s system and help direct emergency personnel.
Invenergy also presented the county with a donation of $2,675 for the equipment.
In other business, the commission agreed to allow the Public Works Department to help with the courthouse renovation project. Director Bill Ring said they could help move limestone posts and remove a concrete pad at the courthouse. They will also continue talking about having Public Works rebuild the sidewalk on the south side of the courthouse. The county’s in-kind donation for the two projects is approximately $8,080.
111th District Rep.-Elect Eber Phelps, D-Hays, gave the commission an update on the upcoming legislative session. He said he would like to come back in January for another update.