Elkhart officials discuss merging city’s 911 center with countyby Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)
Some Elkhart City Council members have suggested merging the city's 911 communications center with the county's as a means to save the city money. (WSBT photo) ELKHART — Cities around the area are trying to whittle down their budgets for the coming year. They're dealing with less revenue and having to find new ways to save money. Multimedia Councilman Brian Thomas raised an idea: Could the city save money by merging its 911 dispatch center with the county's? "The only reason I brought it up is, of course it’s our budget time, and we're looking at running government as efficiently as possible — if there are savings there or efficiencies that would end up saving the taxpayers money,” he explained. But council members want to ensure that the city services are not compromised by such a move. "I've asked them to run the numbers,” said council member Mary Olson. “I want to know how many counties have consolidated statewide to one center.” Mayor Dick Moore is not in favor of the idea. He cites a study done three years ago by former Mayor Dave Miller's administration. "It was found actually that joining the county communications district would not be a benefit to the people of Elkhart at all, and I stand on that,” Moore said. Moore says keeping the dispatch center was one of his campaign promises. “I made it very clear that the communications center would stay in downtown Elkhart,” he said. “I think it needs to stay right there." Councilman Thomas says he's willing to listen to both sides of the issue. “If the city administration would just investigate the possibility of savings; if it’s not going to work out, it doesn't work out,” he said. County Commissioner Mike Yoder says there have been talks about a merger. He says Elkhart County's 911 center was designed with extra space to accommodate a merger. Most PopularMore Good Stuff |
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