Linn County explores dispatch fees for four cities

CEDAR RAPIDS - Despite attempts by Linn County to pare down the price tag, officials with four area cities remain concerned of added costs associated with a growing county dispatch staff.

The Linn County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday discussed an updated proposal that would impose a $123,600 annual fee on the communities of Hiawatha, Lisbon, Mount Vernon and Robins. That money would be spent hiring two new county dispatchers to handle the growing call volume at the Linn County Sheriff's Office.

The cost per municipality is based on a formula using the average calls for service by each community from 2013-2015. Under the proposal, Hiawatha would spend about $67,800, Mount Vernon $28,900, Lisbon $16,500 and Robins $10,500.

Those fees are about half last year's $225,000 proposal by the county for four dispatchers. That plan was met with pushback from the four cities, so the county covered the cost of two new dispatchers hired in fiscal year 2016, while having the four communities pay for two additional dispatchers hired in fiscal year 2018.

'We tried to get somewhere it was amicable, and so the cost of additional dispatchers was spread throughout the county in an equitable way,” Supervisor John Harris said. 'We're trying to see if we can't reach some kind of compromise here.”

But representatives with the four cities at Wednesday's meeting were not satisfied.

'It's the position of the city of Robins that, if the sheriff's department feels that, as a matter of public safety, it's important to hire two additional dispatch people, then the council feels that is an issue for the county to budget,” said Robins Mayor Chuck Hinz.

Lisbon Mayor Beryl O'Connor said she understands the cost of providing adequate public safety grows every year, but noted the considerable burden of such a large annual fee on her city's budget.

'With this additional fee, we may have to cut back an officer,” she said.

Hiawatha City Administrator Kim Downs and Mount Vernon Police Chief Doug Shannon also addressed the issue at Wednesday's meeting, both calling for additional discussion before a decision was made.

The four cities in question were targeted by the county because they have their own police departments, but use the county's dispatch services.

Collectively, the four communities amount to about 22 percent of the Sheriff's Office's dispatch calls.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said growing populations countywide have been a driving factor in the increase in calls for service, spurring the need for more dispatchers.

'When you combine all those things, there's just too much to do for too few people,” he said.

Marion and Cedar Rapids have their own police dispatch, and the 11 other small cities in Linn County contract with the Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services inside their cities for a set number of hours a week or month. The $32 an hour fee includes dispatch costs.

County Auditor Joel Miller suggested the county board consider increasing the contract cost on those community contracts to hire dispatchers.

'My contention is, either subsidize everyone the same or not at all, let's bring some equity and fairness,” he said. 'You're picking winners and losers right now.”

Several on the board disagreed, arguing the new dispatchers are needed to handle added calls to the four communities in question, not the smaller ones.

If the county takes on the entire cost itself, that will only result in higher tax levies for all county residents, said Supervisor James Houser.

'The entire county then is subsidizing the cost of dispatching costs that meet the needs of these four communities,” Houser said.

The board agreed Wednesday to hold more discussion before coming to a decision on the matter.