Like everyone else, Blaine County is searching for ways to trim its budget. But commissioners drew the line at being penny wise and pound foolish when it came to dispatching for the sheriff’s office.
The county had been searching for ways to reduce the cost of dispatching and had postponed signing the annual interlocal agreement with the City of Weatherford to provide those dispatching services while other options were researched.
One of the options considered was having the sheriff's office do it themselves, an option the sheriff was willing to consider. However, the do-it-yourself approach would not meet the looming state mandates on dispatch and would require additional employees.
Emergency management director Jim Shelton noted that to be in full compliance the county would need eight trained dispatchers in rotation. Those dispatchers would need training, full computer setups and networks. And in addition to salaries, there are the mandatory benefits the county would be required to provide.
The costs of the service, plus the startup costs of training and computers would far exceed the $116,000 annual charge from Weatherford.
In the round the commissioners determined that remaining with the current dispatch system was in the county’s best interest.
In other business, the commissioners accepted a maintenance contract on the newly repaired elevator at a cost of $257 per quarter and also accepted the insurance offered through the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma, even though it had escalated in cost, about $5,000 per district. As commissioner Brandon Schultz said, “We’ve got to have it.”
The county also agreed to dispose of five obsolete computers, a printer and six workstations for the assessor’s office as well as two tractors, a mower and two rotary cutters for District # 1. That type of equipment is generally sold through an online equipment auction.