Officials eye giving up dispatchers
Sheriff says mayor asked about using his dispatchersBy LARRY SHIELDS
SALEM - Fearing their part-time jobs are in jeopardy, police dispatchers questioned city council Tuesday about "rumors" the city was attempting contract the work out to another agency.
An eight-year veteran dispatcher in Salem, Tina Cutright questioned council "about some rumors we've heard" regarding the issue.
She said they had heard "someone" was looking for another agency to dispatch Salem police and firefighters.
"If so, who?" she asked, and asked if an agreement had been reached or if it still being pursued.
"We don't know where to start," Cutright said.
Council President Tod Mumpire said, "The mayor is your boss" and Cutright said she guessed that took care of it for the night.
After the meeting, Cutright said she understood that two or three other agencies were approached including the Columbiana County Sheriff's Office and the Leetonia Police Department.
Cutright said she heard that Mumpire, Greg Oesch, deputy safety-service director, and Mayor Jerry Wolford approached Sheriff Dave Smith on the matter.
Wolford did not attend Tuesday's meeting and a telephone message was left for him.
Service Director Steve Andres was contacted and said, "I'm going to let you talk to the mayor about that."
Wolford is expected back on Thursday.
Sheriff Dave Smith said, "I've been approached, about three or four weeks ago."
He said it was the mayor, Greg Oesch and someone else.
"They just wanted to talk about whether I could dispatch for them," Smith said, adding the meeting lasted a half-hour to 45 minutes.
He could not do it without additional dispatchers, Smith said, explaining Salem was one of the largest cities in the county.
"I'd have to add staff," he said, adding the three city officials were "inquisitive about the cost, what it would take and my general feeling on it."
Smith said he hadn't gotten to the point of drawing up a financial figure, but said it would be hard to do with part-time employees.
He said his dispatchers were full-time and union represented.
Smith also explained the most logical operation would employ a centralized county dispatching system.
"But we're way past that now," he said, noting the countywide 911 service will become operational on Sept. 11.
Salem is one of five major dispatch centers in the county and thousands of dollars have been spent tearing apart an old jail room and equipping it with brand new dispatching equipment which Salem dispatchers have been trained on.
Dispatcher Dawn Shrontz said, "I believe that when someone in the city calls 911, they should be speaking to a dispatcher on duty in the city itself, not someone at a remote site that is not familiar with the city."
Cutright said dispatchers work an average of 32 hours a week, enough to keep them under full-time and without insurance benefits, which she said they weren't asking for.
She said Salem had six part-time dispatchers earning $10.85 an hour.
"I love my job," she said. "We're here for their safety."
A message was left for Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano, but wasn't immediately returned.
In other business, Treasurer Robert A. Tullis advised council that income tax receipts were up 2.56 percent over the same period a year ago, but added he still felt "comfortable saying at the end of the year it will flatten out."
He said city's investment portfolio was still providing "a good return on our money" and reported the upgrades to the city television system will be available for viewers soon. He said he wanted to speak with Law Director Brooke Zellers to see what was legal and what was not first.
Council passed the annual Local Government Fund alternative apportionment measure unanimously.
The legislation distributes local government money around the county in what Finance Committee Chairman Justin Palmer said was a "fair" method of funding, except for maybe East Liverpool.
The funding adjustment has been used for years to provide equal funding - $15,000 this year - to political subdivisions across the county while giving less money to East Liverpool.
Council passed two resolutions commending retired employees Pete Sauerwein and Roger Lippiatt. Sauerwein was parks foreman for 18 1/2 years while Lippiatt was a parks laborer and mechanic for 16 years.
Before the council meeting, the Economic Development Committee approved a lengthy amendment to a third program related to economic growth - a business acquisition growth incentive.
Committee Chairman Dave Nestic said it provides a tool for a buyer and seller of any business already in the job creation incentive program. that is having trouble paying taxes within the last two years.
Nestic also reported meeting with members of Cleveland Plus on how Salem can "plug into regional growth."
Larry Shields can be reached at lshields@salemnews.net
