911 Board Adopts Budget Barely in the Black

Effingham County 911 Board members Tuesday adopted a budget for the new fiscal year calling for $382 more in income than outgo.

The Board had met last week with adoption of the budget on the agenda, but a couple of requests for funding were added to the potential list of expenditures so the meeting was continued to this week and action on the budget delayed.

The budget as adopted includes $40,000 for maintenance of the PSAP dispatching consoles. A proposal to maintain the consoles came in well above that amount, and the person who has been in the area to maintain the consoles is moving elsewhere. System Administrator Jodi Moomaw is trying to check with other 911 systems to see what they're spending on maintenance.

The budget also includes money to fund monthly license fees should Altamont police receive new StarCom radios for their force. Altamont Police Chief Alan Heiens is seeking a grant to pay for the radios, but asked 911 to cover the monthly fee if he gets the grant for the hardware. 911 covers the monthly fee for other police agencies in the county equipped with StarCom.

There was no money in the 911 budget, though, for vehicle tracking software that would enable telecommunicators to know where ambulance units are located. The County Board also discussed funding for the tracking software, but there's no room in their budget, either, so other government offices are to be contacted to see if they can fund the software. Eventually, a tracking system is to be in place to eliminate the need for the tracking software.