Mahoning County officials get only one year to dial 911

When he appeared before The Vindicator’s editorial board prior to the Nov. 4 general election, Mahoning County Commissioner John A. McNally IV was asked about a 911 consolidated emergency telephone system for the county.

McNally’s answer reflected his frustration with the resistance to political change that is so evident in this region:

“We’re two years late in getting it moving.”

However, the commissioner, who did win re-election last month, told Vindicator writers that there was movement toward consolidation of the 911 system because of problems being experience in the western part of the county due to the loss of a dispatcher.

McNally also pointed out that 21‚Ñ2 years ago he drafted a resolution so the commissioners could hire a consultant to look at consolidating the county’s 911 system with the ones in Youngstown, Struthers and Campbell.

The lack of progress prompted the Regional Chamber to not only get involved in this issue, but also to propose sweeping changes in the way Mahoning and Trumbull counties are governed. The chamber has called for replacing the current system of commissioners and the other administrative officeholders with a county executive and a large policy board.

The chamber plans to put the government reorganization plan up for a vote in each county in November 2009, but it has put the 911 consolidation on a fast track.

Impatience

The chamber’s impatience was reflected in a comment by Anthony Paglia, vice president for governmental affairs at the Regional Chamber:

“We’re finding we’re not spending the money wisely by having all these different answer points. Some of these communities have come to realize they can’t afford them anymore. ... We’re putting money into all these different systems, and we really can’t afford the most advanced and up-to-date technology.”

Current 911 answering points are in Youngstown, where the city and county each have one, Austintown, Canfield, Boardman, Beaver Township, Struthers and Sebring.

Consolidation would result in one central dispatching center and one backup dispatching location.

Given the snail’s pace, we were certainly taken aback this week to read that the consultant hired by the county, Barry Strock from Albany, N.Y., does not believe consolidation can be accomplished in a year. Indeed, Strock says it could take as much as five years.

Let us be clear: One year is a reasonable amount of time to eliminate all the political barriers to consolidation and to sell the idea to the residents of the county.

Five years is not to be part of any public official’s vocabulary when discussing 911. Too much time has passed, it is not ground-breaking governance and, this is something the business community is demanding — as reflected in the chamber’s position.

There is no excuse for consolidation not to become a reality within a year. The only impediment to progress is political parochialism.

Commissioner McNally and his two colleagues, Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt, have the responsibility to lead the charge.

They will find a willing ally in the chamber and in this newspaper.

McNally, Traficanti and Ludt should give the following assignment to their consultant, Strock: We want a consolidated 911 emergency telephone system up and running in a year’s time. Develop a strategy for us to meet that goal.