Marshall County Commissioners on Friday put the wheels in motion to dissolve the county’s E-911 board during a special-called meeting of the fiscal court in Benton.
The court held the first reading of a draft ordinance that would dissolve the existing seven-member board and put all day-to-day operations management and general administration into the hands of the 911 director. Those duties would include preparing annual budgets, scheduling employees and ensuring all staff maintain required licensing and certifications, among other administrative duties.
However, not all responsibilities would fall under the director’s purview. According to the ordinance, control and management of the Criminal Justice Information System/LINK/NCIC system will fall under the umbrella of the Marshall County sheriff in accordance with federal standards.
The Marshall County judge-executive will manage all personnel appointments, including that of the director and subordinate employees, as well as the termination thereof, according to the ordinance.
A three-member grievance board would be established under the ordinance upon final passage. The board, which will consist of members chosen among fire department chiefs, Benton police chief, Calvert City police chief, Marshall County EMT director, coroner, animal control director, emergency management director or sheriff.
A board consisting of the aforementioned officials would be set for each individual issue to be addressed, with the exception of personnel. The judge-executive or a designee would appoint each board.
The new ordinance is a departure from the previous setup. Marshall County Judge-Executive Kevin Neal last month discovered the interlocal agreement which established the seven-member advisory board had expired in 2010, which threw the board’s legality into question. Commissioners voted to place temporary control of the department to Sheriff Kevin Byars and keep the existing 911 board as an advisory sub-committee until the new ordinance could be drafted.
In addition to holding the first reading of the 911 ordinance, the court also outlined its proposed 2017-18 fiscal year budget.
The $17.5 million budget includes anticipated general fund appropriations of $9,967,125; road fund appropriations accounted for $4,053,259; jail fund appropriations were anticipated at $2,163,250; E-911 budget for the year was set for $734,900; occupational tax administrator funds were set at $120,000; alcohol beverage control appropriations accounted for $275,110 of the total budget; and building inspection funds appropriations were set at $270,100.
A full budget is available to the public for review during business hours in Neal’s office at the old courthouse in Benton.
A budget summary can be found here. Previous year budgets may be reviewed here.