Emergency services to merge under one 911 system

The Flathead City-County 911 Administrative Board wants a tax levy to raise money for a new consolidated emergency dispatch center, and it wants the public to vote on that proposal as soon as possible.

But numerous questions will have to be answered before that, such as how much? When? Where?

The county currently has four 911 centers.

Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish each have one to handle their own police departments. Flathead County has one to handle the sheriff's deputies, plus all fire and ambulance services in the cities and county.

Confusion sometimes exists on routing calls from one department to another. Dispatch equipment is outdated. Maintenance problems and dead spots plague the emergency radio networks across the county. Other aspects need to be overhauled.

Consequently, the 911 board plus the four city and county governments have agreed to merge their emergency dispatch centers into one consolidated operation. The deadline to do so tentatively is July 1, 2008.

Such a center needs money to build and operate. That's what is sending the board to the taxpayers. However, the board does not have an specifics yet to take to the public.

First of all, the project needs construction and operations budgets.

On Tuesday, the 911 board put Mark Peck, director of Flathead County's Office of Emergency Services in charge of a committee to find those figures and crunch them to come up with viable numbers - including property tax rates - to take to the public.

Also, a location needs to be pinned down.

The board is wondering if it could buy the old U.S. Department of Agriculture building on Lower Valley Road. But many points need to be addressed before the board knows whether it can buy that building.

The board also needs to set a date as a deadline for mail-out ballots to be returned.

The board is considering a November date. However, a tax levy referendum proposal must be submitted at least 60 days prior, with the Flathead County Auditor's Offices preferring a 70-day period so it can take care of loose ends.

That means the auditor's office would prefer to see the ballot proposal by Aug. 28 for an Nov. 6 referendum date.

Board members were leery Tuesday about being able to putting a complicated tax levy proposal - with enough details on the 911 center to adequately explain the project - by the end of August. Board members speculated about shooting for an early 2008 ballot.

The board will have to decide in August whether to try for a November ballot.

Issues to be addressed include budgets, taxes, overhauling procedures, fixing up a building, installing updated equipment, and ensuring the dispatchers are properly merged - all without losing any dispatch time when the switch is made from one center to the other.

"From this point forward, no one can afford to blink or snooze … to keep the ball rolling," said board member and Kalispell Fire Chief Randy Brodehl.

The board is considering hiring a project manager to head the consolidation effort. The board has sent strong feelers to Don Loranger, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, to be that project leader.

However, the project's goals need to be mapped out better, and the cost of hiring Loranger needs to be pinned down before he can be seriously considered, board members said.