Hawkins 911 center establishes dispatch fees for county, towns

The Hawkins County Emergency Communications District, which answers and dispatches 911 calls, has been in financial distress. Its county funding doesn't cover operational costs. 911 surcharge money, from phone bills, is not meant to fund dispatching — which is the step beyond answering the phone that directs public safety agencies toward the emergency. The ECD has used its reserve funds to balance its budget for the past two years. If that continues another year, the state will step in and cut costs. That would likely entail cutting dispatch services, HCECD Executive Director Lynn Campbell said. An ECD is required to answer 911 calls, but not to dispatch them; instead, it can transfer the call to the appropriate public safety agency, which is less efficient. To avoid that, the ECD board of directors voted to establish dispatch fees from the county, Mount Carmel, Church Hill and Surgoinsville, and to require interlocal agreements with those municipalities. The vote passed 7-1 at the Wednesday night meeting, with member David Good voting against and member Andy Stump absent. The ECD board's resolution states that all emergency service providers must enter into written agreements outlining what the ECD will do for them and how it will be compensated. The ECD will develop a population-based fee formula using U.S. Census data. Campbell recommended this method — as opposed to call volume, or both — because some calls are handled by multiple agencies. Mount Carmel represents 11% of the county's population, while Church Hill houses 13% and Surgoinsville has 4%. The rest of the population, not including Rogersville — which has its own dispatch services — comprises 72% and falls under the county government. If a government entity doesn't enter an agreement under the fee formula, it will have to start its own dispatch operation, which is expensive. The ECD would then transfer or relay calls to that dispatch. The resolution takes effect July 1. Good opposed the resolution because he said it taxed town residents twice, since they already pay county fees for the ECD. He said the county should shoulder the dispatch fees so everyone pays the same, regardless of where they live. Campbell said it is up to the county and municipalities to decide that. "The resolution today makes sure 911 stays sustainable, stays functioning, [with] our equipment up to date," Campbell said after the meeting. Background The ECD is a stand-alone governmental agency, not a department within the county government. It answers and dispatches 911 calls for almost every public safety agency in Hawkins, but only has an agreement with and funding from the county. It dispatches for the municipalities' agencies despite having no agreement, which is against state law. The ECD held two workshops with county and town leaders to discuss dispatch fees and interlocal agreements. The town of Mount Carmel's Board of Mayor and Aldermen formally opposed the fees in a resolution last month. Mayor John Gibson also published a letter saying the fees would create a triple burden on town residents, potentially subject to county and town taxes as well as the phone surcharges. Gibson criticized the lack of municipality representation on the ECD board, and said the ECD has mismanaged its funds. Campbell responded to the letter at the start of Wednesday's meeting. He said that every dollar spent by the ECD was used for its designated purpose and that he's been forced to dip into reserves because the current funding model is unsustainable. Campbell said that when he became executive director in 2021, the 911 system was in critical disrepair. The phones routinely failed and had such poor audio quality that callers had to repeat themselves for the operators. The computers used old software without security patches, despite housing sensitive data like medical information. Callers had to be placed on hold because there were only two dispatchers working each shift, and call response times were "well below" national standards. Staff members were inadequately paid. Now, Campbell said, those systems have been replaced. Four dispatchers work each shift, able to dispatch in seconds rather than minutes. Employee pay, which accounts for four-fifths of yearly expenses, has improved. "The letter claims that the district has blown through $1 million in two to three years. Given the critical purchases [detailed], the math tells the full story," Campbell said.