The Mercer County Commission recently voted to place a one percent sales tax initiative on the November 5 ballot to fund and establish a 911 board that would oversee countywide dispatching services.
Mercer County First District Commissioner Cheston Easter:
The board members would initially be appointed by the Mercer County Commission, per state statute.
The countywide district ambulance, two main fire districts, and the sheriff’s office currently have dispatching services handled by Harrison County. The services have been provided by Harrison County since February.
If the initiative passes in November, dispatching services would be brought back to Mercer County for those entities. Employees would also be from Mercer County.
Two other fire districts, Spickard and Medicine Creek, cover a small area of Mercer County, and their dispatching services are through other counties.
Mercer County dispatch services were handled by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office for about 60 years, but it reached a point where that was “untenable.”
Former Sheriff Jose Lopez resigned in March, and the county commission appointed Jeff Spencer as sheriff. Spencer still serves in that capacity. The county commission feels that, with a new sheriff, Mercer County would be able to bring back dispatch services to the county.
If the ballot measure passes, the dispatch services would not go back to the sheriff’s office. The services would be by an independent group administered by the board.
If the initiative passes, Easter says the board would start planning as soon as the measure is approved.
Mercer County’s current contract with Harrison County for dispatch services continues until the end of January. If possible, the new arrangement would be set up between November and January, so it could be fully functioning by February.
(Photo in collaboration with Getty Images, licensed under the Unsplash license)
