JEFFERSON — A plan to raid the county’s 9-1-1 Government Assistance Wireless Fund to pay for dispatcher positions in the sheriff’s and city police departments drew sharp criticism from several members of the Ashtabula County 9-1-1 Review Board Thursday morning.
Vince Gildone, chairman of the board, called the commissioners “thieves” and said they have lost their credibility as a result of a plan to take an estimated $250,000 of the board’s $597,000 balance and distribute it to law enforcement for dispatching. The Sheriff’s Department would receive $125,000 of the money and Ashtabula, Conneaut and Geneva police departments would receive a distribution based upon a formula outlined in the 9-1-1 plan.
“I don’t believe the plan was developed to pay for dispatchers,” said board member Mike Fitchet, chief of the Ashtabula Township Fire Department.
Board of Commissioners President Peggy Carlo and Commissioners Daniel Claypool and Joseph Moroski attended the meeting and defended their position. Carlo said the county is making the distribution in accordance with the language of the plan.
“Do we want to do this? No.” Carlo said. “We have to keep deputies on the road, and this is our only option.”
Carlo stressed the money will not go into the general fund, but will be appropriated directly to the Sheriff’s Department for dispatchers, in keeping with the opinion issued by County Prosecutor Thomas Sartini. Some of the review board members feel the plan’s language does not cover personnel, however.
“In this county, 9-1-1 is not dispatching,” Fitchet said.
Claypool said spending the money lines up with the intent of the plan. “It’s keeping people sitting in those chairs, answering 9-1-1 calls,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Department tries to keep at least two dispatchers on duty, but Lt. Greg Leonhard, who oversees the operation, said there are times they have only one dispatcher because of furloughs implemented across the department. And Sheriff William Johnson told the board that come early December he will probably have to make even deeper cuts to bring his department in line with what commissioners appropriated.
“Conceivably, 50 to 55 people will have to take additional furloughs,” he said.
Review board members want assurances that the fund will not tapped in future budgets.
Carlo said commissioners are working on their 2010 budget and don’t plan to include the 9-1-1 funds.
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