Timeline for Marietta, Washington County 911 merger set

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MARIETTA — A tentative timeline has been set for the merger of Marietta Police 911 dispatch with Washington County 911, but the chairman of City Council’s Police and Fire Committee said the consolidation is not a foregone conclusion.
During a Police and Fire Committee meeting Thursday evening, At-Large Councilman Jon Grimm said he thinks consolidation of 911 should be a top priority for the committee and set a deadline of March 15.
“We don’t need to rush it… but we need to be diligent to get this done and for multiple reasons, but not the least of which, the employment of at least three Marietta employees are in the balance,” he said.
Grimm said he asked Washington County Commissioner Charlie Schilling for the county to hold off on final decisions for filling three county 911 dispatcher positions until Jan 16. He asked that anyone on the committee and any other interested party, including the public, send him written questions on the consolidation by the end of next week and he will forward them to Schilling to get answers from the appropriate party.
Grimm said he has scheduled a meeting for Jan. 6 to discuss the questions “with the ultimate goal of a resolution of intent for consolidation of the (Marietta Police) 911 center with the county contingent on an acceptable (memorandum of understanding) and with a consolidation date or timeline of mid-March. Let’s just say March 15.”
The dates for the merger timeline are not carved in stone, according to Grimm, but they are firm.
Grimm said Marietta Mayor Joshua Schlicher and Washington County commissioners indicated that timeline was acceptable to them.
Grimm said after the meeting that he has not informed Marietta Police Chief Katherine Warden, who is opposed to the merger, about the timeline but noted Schilcher is the head of the city administration.
The conversation about consolidation started Dec. 2 at a Police and Fire Committee meeting when council members discussed a draft resolution to support the merger, with the process starting Dec. 17. That’s the date the county is taking over Marietta Police’s Public Safety Answering Point for 911 calls. There is a requirement under new 911 guidelines that calls be answered by emergency medical dispatch certified dispatchers.
It was initially thought those certifications, which Marietta’s dispatchers do not have, were required this month. But it was determined the requirement does not have to be met until October.
Both Warden and Fire Chief C.W. Durham expressed concerns with the rushed timeline at the Dec. 2 meeting, with Warden saying that was the first she’d heard of the merger. She also questioned other effects, like the department having to close at 45 p.m. without dispatchers on duty and how to handle other duties those employees cover. She said some dispatchers indicated they would quit instead of moving to the county.
Grimm said earlier this week that if the dispatchers did not take jobs with the county and could not fill other roles in the department, they would not remain city employees.
Earlier this week, Warden proposed an alternative: Marietta keeping its PSAP and any e911 funding associated with it and not merging with the county.
“I would certainly be willing to hear that,” Grimm said Thursday. “I was again approached by the mayor today about that very subject. So with that in mind I want to stay on this timeline for consolidation but in the meantime, if the administration would like to come to the committee with a proposal to that end” he would listen.
If the city can receive e911 funding associated with the PSAP, it would allow the city to free up resources to increase police patrol capacity, Grimm said.
“We’re not going to make a decision on this before January,” he said of the merger. “We are going to consider (consolidation) as an option …we are keeping the train moving, until there’s a reason to change course.”
A Police and Fire Committee meeting has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, in Room 10 of the Marietta Armory to discuss the 911 merger.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com