The Board of Aldermen voted in favor of transferring the E-911 center back to Attala County in its recent meeting, but the change is one that involves some history. Still early in the planning process, the Attala County Board of Supervisors and Kosciusko Board of Aldermen have not yet met with each other to finalize details or a plan of action for the move. But the change is set to happen by Sept. 30, 2022.
According to state statute, counties are designated to oversee E-911 operations.
However, when E-911 services began in 1999, the city and county signed an interlocal agreement in which the county housed the city’s prisoners in exchange for the city overseeing E-911 operations.
The interlocal agreement lasted until 2013, and then was amended to add some provisions.
“The county wanted us to start paying for some prisoners,” said Kyle.
According to Kyle, In the amended agreement, the city began paying the county $25 per prisoner with a minimum of $125 per day. The county began paying half of the E-911 dispatchers’ salaries.
The county jail ceased to operate in 2016, and the city has continued overseeing E-911 operations, so Mayor Kyle said he felt the time was right to transfer the service back to the county.
“The city has continued to run 911, but now since (the county) doesn’t house our prisoners or anything it makes sense for the county to receive the responsibility of operating that system,” said Kyle.
District Five Supervisor Tim Pinkard said the county did not shut the jail down on its own but because they had no other choice.
“We shut it down, but we had to. The prisoner’s rights attorney, last name was Welch, condemned that jail. He said it wasn't feasible and wasn’t optimal to house inmates. So, we closed it. We had no choice,” said Pinkard. “We tried other buildings to put a jail, and they wouldn’t accept that. We tried to build a new jail, but the prices came in way out of hand. We’ve bid that jail two times, and (bids) came in way too high. The expense of a jail is a day-to-day operation. Brick-and-mortar is one thing. That’s a one-time cost, but everyday day-to-day operations is where your money comes in.”
According to the interlocal agreement, the city was required to notify the county within 90 days of the transfer. But the city is allowing until Sept. 30 before the yearly budget ends in October.
“That way, it gives them time to work that into their budget with how they want to handle it,” said Kyle. “And since we've already budgeted through the year, it’s just that way gives everybody plenty of time to work out details.”
Kyle said if the county does not have a facility to move the E-911 center to at the time, then a temporary arrangement can be worked out until a location is designated.
One potential new location could be on an area purchased by the county to house a new fire station. While still in early talks, the E-911 center would be adjacent to the fire station if the location is chosen.
“It is the county's responsibility for the 911, and we have just got to have time to find a place to house it where it will be correctly run and efficient,” said Pinkard. “Hopefully at this fire station we might be able to have a place or a spot out beside it or something. But we don't know that yet.”
District Three Supervisor Stephen Goss said overseeing the operations of the E-911 center is no small task.
“There is a lot of a lot of work and headache that goes into keeping 911 on its feet, so I can see where they are coming from,” said Goss. “It’s hard to hire people right now and trying to find help —people that are educated enough to do the 911 job — is hard. And then we have trouble keeping people hired to do those jobs. I’m going to say the biggest problem is not as much the jail as it is the headache (of taking on 911 responsibilities).”
Emergency manager Danny Townsend agreed that 911 operations can be challenging but said the county is going to find a way to make it work.
“911 came about because people voted for it and wanted it. That was on a on a referendum and people voted for it. They wanted it, so we’ve got to figure out how to make it work,” said Townsend. “And we are going to make it work.”
Board President and District Four Supervisor Willie Perteet said the process of working out the details will take time.
“It’s going to take time, so we don’t mind accepting it,” said Perteet. “But once we get everything in place to where we will put it, then we will move forward. Until then, it’s an in-process thing and we have got to be on the same page.”
