Columbiana County 911 gets a boost from public

An administrator will be hired to set up and run the new emergency system.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Work will begin in coming weeks on establishing the final details of an improved Columbiana County 911 system that will go into effect in 2005, says a key organizer of the service.
"We have a lot of hard work ahead of us," county Commissioner Gary Williams said Tuesday after voters overwhelmingly approved an issue to help fund an enhanced 911 system.
The measure -- calling for a 50-cent monthly surcharge on telephone bills -- captured nearly 63 percent of the votes cast.
Voters' approval means 911 system organizers will next form an operating committee that will assemble procedures for implementing the service and create policies governing how it is run.
Columbiana County already has a basic 911 service. But it is only one of a handful of counties in the state lacking a database that allows emergency personnel to instantly receive electronic details, such as the address from which a 911 call is being placed.
Having those details will improve emergency responses, enhanced 911 system supporters have said.
Funds from surcharge
The nearly $270,000 annually that will be raised by the surcharge will help pay for setting up and operating the improved system.
The county also will get $400,000 from a fund created through a settlement between the state and Ameritech over a service dispute.
Collection of the surcharge will begin April 1. It will take 18 months to 24 months to implement the improved 911 system, Williams said.
Much of that time will be spent assembling a database to be used with the service.
System planners expect to contract someone in coming months to set up and administer the system, Williams said.
Right now it appears 911 answering points will be at police and fire dispatching centers already operating in East Liverpool, East Palestine, Columbiana and the county sheriff's office.
Salem won't join
Organizers of the new 911 system invited Salem to join the list of answering points because its dispatching center already serves a large population. City council, however, has refused. Council members have expressed concern that serving as answering point would increase the city's dispatching costs.
Planners for 911 have insisted it will not.
Dispatching centers designated as answering points will be provided equipment that will allow them to take in 911 calls from the area they already serve and to transfer the calls directly to the emergency service that will handle them.
Although Salem has turned down the invitation to be an answering point, Williams said the invitation remains open. He added he is hopeful city officials will reconsider now that the 911 funding issue has passed.
leigh@vindy.com