City, county may ask mediator for help on 911 funding

FAIRFIELD — Representatives of the City of Fairfield and Jefferson County are hopeful they can begin making progress on a dispute over how the law center is funded.

During an emergency services meeting on Friday, Feb. 4, the two Jefferson County Supervisors on the committee — Dee Sandquist and Daryn Hamilton — suggested bringing in a mediator to help the city and county come to an agreement. The two Fairfield City Council representatives on the committee — Paul Gandy and Doug Flournoy — said they would take that idea to the full city council during its next meeting on Feb. 14.

Attorneys for the two sides, Fairfield City Attorney John Morrissey and Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding, met after the emergency services meeting to draft a list of possible mediators. Moulding said that he and Morrissey agreed upon a person to serve as a mediator, and that Morrissey will present that person to the Fairfield City Council Monday.

The dispute between the city and county revolves around whether 911 dispatchers should be city or county employees, and how 911 should be funded. The city’s position is that Fairfield residents are paying a disproportionate share of the funding, and has recommended that 911 services be funded through an emergency management levy. Under this arrangement, the dispatchers would remain city employees.

The county has made a counter proposal of turning dispatch into a county-owned function, so that the county would be responsible for paying for it and the dispatchers would become county employees. The county announced its proposal Jan. 5, and though city officials have requested more details on it, the two sides have not made any progress toward a resolution.

Moulding said a mediator helps to find a resolution between two parties.

“There’s a lot at stake that we agree on, and when we all have the same interests, it’s a perfect situation for a mediator,” Moulding said.

Moulding said a mediator is different from an arbitrator, who is like a privately hired judge who makes a decision about who is right in a dispute. A mediator helps the two sides find common ground.

“The reason we’d agree to mediation is that both entities are public entities with elected officials,” Moulding said. “The decision has to be made by the city council and Board of Supervisors.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com