Published on July 9, 2020 in the Mangum Star
Mangum is still looking for ways to lighten their financial load with 911 personnel costs.
Mayor Mary Jane Scott met with Greer County commissioners in their regular meeting Monday to discuss way to spread some of the $200,000 of dispatch costs between other county entities.
“We want to pay our fair share,” Scott said at the meeting. “But, we want all communities to pay their fair share.”
Scott bounced several ideas off the commissioners for how the county could come up with some funds, including ad valorem (property) tax increase, a specific 911 tax, new fees and asking state legislators to help.
County Clerk Leanne Coffman said sales tax is not an option because the county is maxed out on the amount they can charge for that.
Coffman also brought up some other issues concerning the 911 dispatch.
She said she’s been told dispatch does not call rural fire departments like Hester or Jester when there are fires in their area.
Instead, she said, they call Mangum’s fire department.
“The rural fire department and our emergency management director don’t know when there is a fire out at Hester when there’s a fire department there that can go out,” she said. “But, they’re not ever dispatched. They don’t know.”
In response to that, Scott asked who employed the dispatchers and who was in charge of them.
“This goes back to the whole thing of how confusing this is,” Scott said.
Coffman said the county has no control of them since they are paid city employees.
Scott asked Greer County Sheriff Jackie Jenkins who hired and trained the dispatchers, who are housed in the county jail. To both questions, Jenkins just said, “the city.”
“We have no control over dispatchers,” he said.
Scott said she did not know if they had training other than senior dispatchers showing new people what to do. Ethical issues, how to talk on the phone and customer service were all concerns Scott had.
Coffman said there have been issue with dispatch where a vicious dog was in someone’s yard, and the person called the non-emergency dispatch number, only to have the dog’s owner show up before police because they were called first.
“There’s not a lot of faith in our dispatchers,” Coffman said. “Trust me. I have heard many complaints.”
Coffman said there are talks of a statewide agency for 911 dispatch, so standards can be set to avoid issues like this.
Returning to the personnel cost issue, Scott said the city is down to the wire in their budget, and something has to be done.
“I certainly don’t want to give up our 911 dispatch,” she said. “We want to make sure we have that.”
Scott said she wants to work with the county “side by side” to figure out a solution to pay for the dispatch. She said she wants it to be fair for everybody involved.
“I’m not walking in here and saying, ‘you guys are going to do this.’ I want to work together to see what the possibilities are because there’s got to be a possibility somewhere,” she said.
Scott said she’ll be back at the county commissioners next Monday, and Mangum Police Chief Scott Paxton will be there as well.