As Texas County’s new 911 system moves forward, it will do so with a steady monthly income.
Texas County Emergency Services board member Jim McNiell said the first check resulting from the 3/8-cent sales tax approved by voters last April recently came in from the Missouri Department of Revenue, in the amount of $10,487.
“It’s kind of a landmark moment,” McNiell said. “We wish it had been bigger, because there’s so much to get done, but this gets things started and it’s the first of many checks we’ll get from the department of revenue.”
Wright County last year decided to end a two-county 911 system that began in the mid-1990s, and Texas County subsequently put the sales tax on the ballot to meet the cost of continuing service here. Wright County voters approved a similar tax last month.
McNiell said the current Wri-Tex 911 system will officially come to an end and the Texas County Emergency Services system will begin at the outset of 2015. At that point, Wright County would have to pay an as yet undetermined fee to continue having Texas County do its 911 dispatching while it takes steps to begin its own system.
“They’re behind, so they’re probably going to want to continue with us,” McNiell said. “The board will decide what it’s going to cost, but it’s not going to be scot-free.”
McNiell said the opening is expected in March of the new emergency services office inside the county administration building on Grand Avenue in downtown Houston. Until then, emergency service dispatching for either or both counties will continue at the current Wri-Tex office on the Texas County Memorial Hospital campus.
Meanwhile, the seven-member Texas County Emergency Services board will this week interview five finalists for its 911 director position. McNiell said current Wri-Tex 911 director Donna Robertson is among them.
“We wanted to be fair, and as a new group just open this up in all directions and seek the best possible person to lead our department,” he said. “But Donna is very talented and brings a lot to the position. If she comes out on top, then that would be our choice.”
McNiell said the transition being made will ultimately benefit both Texas County and Wright County.
“There’s a lot of work going on right now and a lot of decision making,” he said. “But it will be a better service for Texas County when we finally break off and have it all together. I think the same goes for them; it’s a big responsibility to cover two counties and it will work better having your own people working your own county.
“It should result in better 911 service for citizens of both counties.”