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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > June > 12 > Entry
Chiefs chide commissioner
It was a heated back-and-forth in the commissioners chambers today, June 12.
Nearly a dozen police and fire chiefs and other law enforcement personnel showed up to protest Commissioner Gregory Jolivette’s idea to study combining the county’s nine dispatch centers. (Read that story here.)
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones fired the first shot, asking the other two commissioners to deny Jolivette’s expected motion.
“I’m asking you to please stop this nonsense,” Jones said to commissioners Donald Dixon and Charles Furmon. “We’ve spent enough money on it already.”
Jones and other emergency personnel warned the commission that requesting a study at this point in the process would delay the much needed 800 MHz system.
Jolivette disagreed, saying the project should still move forward.
Needless to say, after nearly 30 minutes of discussion and realizing he didn’t have another supporter on the commission, Jolivette decided against making the motion for a study.
“I don’t think I’m going to make a motion,” he said. “I can count.”
Jolivette said the county made a mistake years ago when they promised to pay for equipment and maintenance on the new 800 MHz system.
Voters approved a 0.5 percent sales tax to pay for the now $36 million communication system. (Read that story here.)
“We should have had some tough love with the municipalities that have dispatch centers,” Jolivette said, adding that the cost to maintain the new system is expected to be between $1 and $1.5 million. “We need to get the ball rolling to say how are we going to pay for the maintenance down the road.”
Law enforcement officials said maintenance was part of the original agreement.
“We all supported that because a quarter percent was going to maintenance,” said Hamilton Fire Chief Joe Schutte. “That should not be an issue right now. If you’re trying to back out of that agreement, they’re not going to like that.”
Jolivette said he planned on honoring the county’s original agreement, saying again they made a mistake.
“I don’t know what we’re afraid of, looking at other counties (who have merged dispatch services,” Jolivette said. “If it (a study) comes back and says it’s a bad idea, I’m going to be the first one that says let’s scrap the idea.”
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By margaret
June 12, 2008 11:28 PM | Link to this
Lets get these facts straight readers. Two years ago Commissioner Greg Jolivette, with the help of Commissioner Chuck Furmon voted to RAISE our SALES TAX so they could spend 36 MILLION on this radio system. Now readers think how stupid Greg Jolivette thinks we are! Now he wants us to believe that “oh gee taxpayers we raised your taxes two years ago to pay for this radio system, but we made a mistake and now I want to do a study.” Don’t you think Jolivette you should have done “your study” BEFORE you and Furmon COMMITTED to spending 36 MILLION dollars on a “MISTAKE”?????