Vote next week on emergency dispatch system upgrades

Grant County Commissioners to decide whether or not to add ballot proposal

EPHRATA — Police and fire agencies say they need a public safety grade communication system and a group of board members representing them Tuesday requested county officials add a sales tax proposal to the November ballot to pay for one.

The Grant County Commissioners will vote early next week on whether to add the ballot proposal or not, Commissioner Deborah Moore said, after the meeting with the Multi-Agency Communications Center board members.

However, if the ballot proposal is added, voters will be making the final decision on whether to increase the sales tax.

The proposed one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase would be permanent and pay for the estimated $7 million overhaul of the county's 911 system and future maintenance, said Sheriff Frank De Trolio. He added that the money will be specifically earmarked for the MACC and will not be spent elsewhere in the county's budget.

A report by AdComm Engineering, released earlier this year, arrived at the $7 million price tag to complete a state-of-the-art system after a detailed analysis of current systems. AdComm stated in their report that MACC must implement some form of radio system improvements or the existing system will continue to deteriorate to an unacceptable level until the board will be exposed to several liabilities.

MACC must take immediate action to remedy many of the deficiencies. There is no additional cause for waiting or reporting," the report stated.

A previous analysis was completed by Motorola in 2002 to check the MACC system for compliance with Federal Communications Commission standards, but the system failed in many categories in that report as well.

If voters reject the increased sales tax to pay for the upgrades, the only other option will be to raise fees on the system's users and search for grant money, which would ultimately not generate enough funding. Additionally, the longer it takes to get the system upgrades started, the more it will cost because of inflation, said De Trolio, who heads the MACC board.

According to figures given to the commissioners by the MACC board, the one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase would generate between $800,000 to $840,000 annually making the eventual pay off of the system upgrade costs possible and then continue to be used to maintain the system in the future.

"It's a big cost, but I think it's reasonable to ask the taxpayers," Commissioner Moore said.

Moore added that people visiting here from out of Grant County will be helping to pay for the new equipment when they are charged sales tax.

If the commissioners decide to add the proposal to the ballot, the MACC board will make an effort to share information with the public and voters about the new system proposal.

"The coverage will be incredibly better," said Fire Chief Roger Hansen, of Grant County fire district No. 5.

As part of the upgrade, the system would receive two new radio sites to add to the existing seven sites, board members said. They said the new system will not provide reception everywhere, but will reach more areas and deliver clearer reception with the upgraded equipment that will last for 50 years or more and meet public safety grade standards.

"It appears to be a necessary item to address these equipment deficiencies," said Commission Chair LeRoy Allison.