Allen County commissioners gave a thumbs up Tuesday to purchase of a new telephone for business calls made to the 911 communications center.
Director Angie Murphy said the purchase — she has proposals ranging from $7,000 to $14,000 — is necessary to keep the business end of the center compatible with new 911 equipment and also ensure maintenance and problems would be dealt with in an expedient manner. If the old system were kept, repair parts and upkeep would be an issue, she said.
In addition to cost, $1,000 a year will be paid for a maintenance agreement.
She also noted that when 911 phones are busy or out of service, incoming calls roll over to the business side.
Commissioner Jim Talkington had pause before embracing Murphy’s proposal.
“I want to understand what we’re doing,” Talkington said. “Seems like department heads come in, with no prior notice, and we have to decide things right away,” as though “our hands are tied.”
Commissioner Tom Williams said it appeared to him — Murphy confirmed his suspicion — that the federal government had shut the spigot on money that had come to the state for 911, with the state retaining what was available for its role in emergency telephone service.
Regardless, Williams said it was imperative “we think about safety of the public as we go forward, and the importance of 911.”
Expenditures Murphy mentioned will be paid from the 911 account.
On request of Glenda Creason, representing Iola’s Senior Center, commissioners approved the cleaning and placing of a film on the windows on the west side of the building.
Cost will be $290, done by DAC-LIN Corporation, Iola. Commissioners said they would pay the bill, rather than have it come from center’s meager funds. Creason said she was delighted with the commissioners’ generosity and was sure other patrons would be as well.
