911 Call Center Decision Put on Hold

Efforts to break down the glass wall separating the City and County 911 Call Centers have been put on hold temporarily. The Chamber supports efforts to end this separation and consolidate 911 Call Centers, resulting in one streamlined point of contact for communications, emergency services and homeland security issues. Chamber VP of Government Affairs, Joni Howell, is quoted in the following Journal Gazette article.

Hold button hit on dispatch deal: County gives sheriff, chief 60 days to make changes
Amanda Iacone
Journal Gazette

For less than a week, it seemed that the glass wall between city and county dispatch operations might come down.

But the Allen County commissioners on Friday delayed moving along a formal agreement between the city and county. Instead, they gave Sheriff Ken Fries and Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York 60 days to cobble together an improved version – making the tentative agreement the latest false start in a debate that has lasted years.

Commissioner Nelson Peters expressed doubt that Fries and York would come up with a solution but hoped they would prove him wrong. Other city and county officials expressed optimism that the two would be successful in bringing back an amended agreement.

“We’ve been working on it year after year after year, and we’ve not gotten any farther than we are now,” Peters said, adding that he is frustrated by the latest delay.

Peters defended the plan he and Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell hashed out, saying it was designed to eliminate turf struggles, build trust and improve public safety.

But Peters did not try to push for a vote Friday, saying to a packed room that he knew Commissioners Bill Brown and Linda Bloom wouldn’t vote to approve the agreement.

On Monday, Peters and Mayor Tom Henry announced what was heralded to the public as a historic accord. The pact would create an operating board to hire a director and staff, handle benefits, payroll and equipment purchases. The mayor and commissioners would each appoint three members, and those six would appoint a seventh member.

City and county officials each said they would likely appoint the city police and fire chiefs, plus the sheriff and likely someone to represent local volunteer fire departments. A member from the City Council and County Council might also be included on the board.

An executive board comprising the commissioners and the mayor would break any tie votes of the operating board.

Currently, county staff work for the sheriff, and city staff technically work under the umbrella of the police department. A wall with large glass windows separates the two centers, which are housed in the basement of the City-County Building.

The glass wall has become a symbol of the struggles city and county leaders face in cooperating and sharing resources.

Its significance is known around the state. And leaders pushing for government modernization use it as a prime example of why state lawmakers need to push for change, knowing city and county cooperation won’t happen on its own, said Joni Howell, vice president of government affairs for the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber supports the merger and urged the commissioners to approve the agreement.

Brown questioned the agreement when it was first announced Monday because he prefers an even number of members on the operations board. He also said that garnering the sheriff’s support for any merger is paramount.

Bloom, however, was mum Monday, making hers the deciding vote.

“This should happen,” Bloom said of the merger, “but not the way it’s written today.”

She said she was surprised that Fries and York hadn’t met to discuss the merger and was glad that their input would finally be taken into consideration.

Bloom said she won’t tell the sheriff what to do. Her duties and responsibilities as a commissioner do not include running emergency dispatch, and the sheriff knows the best way to run his department.

Bloom, however, put some of the burden on Fries to make the merger happen and not act like past sheriffs who disliked the idea.

“If ever there was a time the sheriff should come forward, it’s now,” she said.

But Peters said what he and the city negotiated isn’t significantly different from Fries’ most recent plan, which at the time called for the sheriff to make appointments instead of the commissioners and the commissioners alone serving as the executive board.

Fries said Friday that his proposal followed a model laid out in state law. He also said any formal document needs to include specific details about how the merged center would operate and not leave those details to the board.

“We will come up with a plan,” Fries said of his collaboration with York. But he didn’t know whether they would meet the 60-day window the commissioners offered.

Peters said he will push the pair to meet the deadline. And if they bring forward a revised plan, Peters will likely support it, he said.

After Friday’s meeting, York expressed optimism because Fries is at least willing to consider a board overseeing the operations, unlike past sheriffs who insisted that the sheriff have total control.

“Maybe this will push them to work a little harder, search a little deeper,” Purcell said, adding that he is comfortable giving Fries and York a chance because they will look out for residents’ best interests.

Regardless of the outcome, Purcell said officials should make a final decision either to merge or drop the idea altogether.

"At some point we need to stop talking about this," he said.