Butler County will help both non-and-for profit agencies pay for new dispatch radios as the county readies to transition to an updated 911 radio system.
The county is covering 75 percent of the cost of the new equipment that fire and police departments, and EMS agencies, will need.
There was some debate over whether the county should help pay for the equipment needed by for-profit agencies, like Butler Ambulance Service, but ultimately the commissioners decided to cover the costs, voting on Wednesday 2-1. Commissioner Kevin Boozel dissented, stating concerns of using taxpayer money to subsidize radios for a for-profit agency.
The exact cost the county will pay for each fire department is unclear at this point. The county is expected to release more in-depth figures in the near future. A formula was used to determine what specific equipment each department needed based on its size. On Wednesday, officials did say the cost to the county for Butler Ambulance Service equipment will be about $95,000.
Steve Bicehouse, director of emergency services for Butler County, said other counties have paid 100 percent of the costs associated with new equipment for an updated 911 center, but officials in Butler decided to pass some of the costs onto the departments to ensure a sense of accountability.
“It’s our responsibility (as a county), to ensure that these emergency services are provided, and that these agencies and departments have the emergency communication devices that they need,” Commissioner Leslie Osche said. “We were tasked with updating our 911 center.”
The county was mandated to update their 911 system because the equipment will no longer be supported after this year. The entire project will cost about $14 million. Plans have been in the works for years.