Discussions continue on sharing dispatch equipment

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

Tuesday morning, the Henry County Board of Supervisors met with Washington Communications Supervisor Cara Sorrells to discuss the possibility of the two counties sharing a VIPER (Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders) system for its 911 dispatch services.

?We need to be doing some upgrades, and that?s why were looking into the system,? explained Marc Lindeen, supervisor chairman. He said that knowing the cost and capabilities of the VIPER system, the county is interested in sharing the equipment with another county in order to save the county money. Both Washington and Lee counties now have VIPER systems.

?Right now we don?t want to pay up to $50,000 to upgrade our equipment if we don?t have to,? commented Kent White, supervisor vice chairman.

Lindeen noted that although the supervisors are looking into sharing equipment with another county, it is ultimately the decision of the E911 board.

?It?s the board?s decision, not our decision entirely,? said Lindeen.

Before a decision is made, there are some questions that still need to be answered, such as what the agreement would look like between the two counties? E911 boards and what the cost would be to the county.

Henry County Sheriff Allen Wittmer said that if the numbers add up to show that sharing a VIPER would make financial sense for the county, he would support doing so.

?I?ll publicly support it. But I won?t publicly support sharing dispatchers,? said Wittmer.

There has been some concern over the Henry County dispatchers potentially losing their jobs because the capabilities of the VIPER system could allow for the two counties to share dispatchers, based in Washington County.

However, the Henry County supervisors have stated that although it is possible that might happen a few years down the road, sharing dispatchers is not in their plans. Rather, they are just interested in the equipment at this point.

Wittmer said that he knows many of the firemen have expressed concern over how they would be impacted by the new system.

?We have a lot of people to bring into the loop,? said Lindeen.

Henry County 911 calls would still be answered by Henry County dispatchers. The VIPER system would only be used to route the calls. It would be programmed so if a phone call came in from Henry County, the computer would send the phone call to the dispatchers in Henry County.

There may be a little longer transition time with the signal going north and then coming back south, but it would only be a matter of seconds, such as the time between the first ring of the phone and second ring.

In other business, the supervisors approved the hiring of Brandon Ray Marquardt as deputy sheriff, beginning on Oct. 24.

They also approved purchasing a blade to install on the sheriff department?s four-wheeler for snow removal.