TRUMBULL COUNTY Keep our 911 center, Liberty residents urge

Township trustees don't have all the data from county 911 for a decision.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- If the standing-room-only-crowd was any indication, residents don't want township trustees to eliminate the township's emergency dispatching center.
"Don't take this out of Liberty. Do not take our 911," A.E. Vea, a 40-year township resident and businessman told trustees Monday night.
Residents poured into the township administration building to express their displeasure for any attempt to disband the dispatching center and join Trumbull County 911.
Trustees have asked the county emergency system to provide them with information about the cost of joining the county system as a possible cost-cutting measure.
"We have 24-hour safety," Vea said of any attempt to eliminate township dispatching.
"What gives with you guys?" former township dispatcher Anabele Fialla asked of trustees. "Just keep the radio room here."
Early stages
Chairman Jack Simon said the board is only in the beginning stages of researching the county 911 dispatch system, and no decision has been made. "It was prompted by economics, but it [the decision] will be based purely on safety," he said.
Trustee W. Gary Litch explained that the state auditor's office recommended in an audit that the township should look at merging with another dispatching agency to save money.
Litch said the township is paying $900,000 this year for health benefits.
Township administrator Patrick J. Ungaro noted that the township will move from self-insured health coverage to a fully-insured plan that will drop the cost of medical benefits to $650,000 annually. At the same time, the township will know up front what its coverage costs will be.
In arguing against going to the county 911, township Patrol Officer Michael Janovick, local representative of the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association union, said the county has a way of wasting money. Janovick pointed out that Liberty police had to win a lawsuit to allow the township to pull out of the county 911 system in 1996.
Resident's suggestion
Resident David Simon told trustees that they should look at other solutions rather than cutting the township system.
"We want to go forward, not backward," Simon said, noting trustees should look at growth through economic development.
Fred Faustino, a former township detective, argued there are problems with county system.
"You don't want to go there, believe me," Faustino asserted. "You can't put a price on a life."
Township Patrol Officer Jim Smith asserted that the township dispatch provides a quality service. "The quality of service needs to stay."
XContributor: Holly A. Taylor, Vindicator correspondent
yovich@vindy.com