Council approves communications agreement with Sheriff

     Prior to approving an agreement of communications services between the City of Monticello and the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, there was a lot of discussion to bring everyone up to date on how the contract figures came to be.

     During the Jan. 3 Monticello City Council meeting, Police Chief Britt Smith asked the council to approve the agreement. The agreement handles dispatch services for police, fire, and ambulance.

     Smith said the contract fee has always been rather “ambiguous, with little explanation for the establishment of the rate.”

     There have been requested annual fee increases anywhere between 3 and 10 percent, also, Smith said, with no explanation.

     “For several years now, I have been working with the sheriff and auditor in attempting to establish a fair formula to justify the contract rate, which impacts more than just Monticello,” Smith offered, “but also all the other communities in Jones County.”

     Smith shared that former County Auditor, Janine Sulzner, recommended $80,000 as an appropriate communications fee for Monticello.

     “This formula could have a significant impact on the smaller communities,” Smith told the council.

     Following that suggested figure, Smith, Sheriff Greg Graver and Sulzner sat down to work out a new formula “that takes into consideration the taxes already allocated through the county budget to the Sheriff’s dispatch center.

     “The auditor indicated that approximately $54,000 of the county tax revenues from Monticello were allocated to the Dispatch Center,” continued Smith.

     This would mean the City of Monticello accounts for approximately $80,000 of the Dispatch Center’s operating budget.

     As of now, Smith told the council that any further communication to meet with the sheriff and the new county auditor have ceased. However, there has not been a push from the county to seek a considerable contract fee.

     For Fiscal Year 2022, the communications fee the council approved was $25,218. For FY 2023, the sheriff is asking for an 8.1 percent increase, or $25,975.

     “This is still a fair rate for how we would propose a calculation to establish the contract rate,” Smith said. “We’ll still work to establish a formula moving forward.”

     “Do you anticipate another 8 percent increase next year?” asked Council member Scott Brighton.

     “It could be anywhere between 3 and 10 percent,” Smith indicated. “Our share will continue to go up anyway because the operating budget for the Dispatch Center will continue to increase.”

     The council asked how much it might cost the city to run its own dispatch/communications center. Smith estimated roughly $300,000.

     The council approved the FY 2023 contract fee.

In other city business:

   • The council approved a sidewalk replacement cost-share project with the Great Jones County Fair. This allows the Fair Board to proceed with bids.

     City Administrator Russ Farnum said that if the city’s cost share was under $5,000, city staff is authorized to approve the project without bringing it to the council for formal approval.