Dothan/Houston County E911 purchase leads to request for AG's opinion

The Dothan/Houston County E911 District has formally requested two Attorney General opinions to confirm whether E911 funds spent on communications radios was done so legally.

The district board, comprised of the full Dothan City Commission and two Houston County commissioners, voted to seek AG opinions as follows:

1. Whether the Dothan/Houston County E911 District may expend E911 funds to pay for a P25 Digital 800MHz radio communications system maintenance contract.

2. Whether the Dothan/Houston County E911 District may expend E911 funds to pay for portable radios for the volunteer rescue squads that use a UHF radio frequency.

Commissioner Taylor Barbaree voted against the second opinion, though the radios have already been purchased. The AG opinion is being requested by E911 Advisory Board Chairman Clark Matthews.

Also on the second issue, the board voted to rescind a Feb. 10 approval to reimburse the city for the purchase of four Motorola radio consoles in fiscal year 2010 at a cost not to exceed $252,000. Commissioner Keith Seagle voted against this item.

The confusion over the radios centers on the fact that there are two Public Safety Answering Points in the District – the City of Dothan’s and the Houston County Sheriff’s Offices.

The Motorola radio system is owned by the city and is the primary system for the city’s police and fire departments. For inter-operability purposes, the radios are also used by the Houston County Emergency Management Agency; Dothan City Schools; Dothan Airport Police; other police departments in the county; the sheriff’s office; Houston County Volunteer Fire Department; and the Houston County volunteer rescue squads.

It is not the primary system for the sheriff’s office, other police stations, volunteer fire departments and rescue squads.

The maintenance contract would be for infrastructure, technical support, equipment replacement, preventive maintenance, monitoring and other services for the overall system and all user radios and repair of the total system.

City Manager Mike West said if E911 funds can’t be used on the maintenance contract, “we will have to eliminate a lot of our users. About half are not in the City of Dothan system. They are out to various users.”

Sheriff Andy Hughes recently objected, saying a countywide agency shouldn’t be funding maintenance on a service used primarily by Dothan, especially because a countywide rate increase would be necessary to pay for it.

The sheriff’s office uses a separate radio system that functions from a UHF radio system owned by a private company. They use the city system for some dispatching to other municipalities.

While the E911 Advisory Committee members have disagreed on issues relating to radio expenditures, they unanimously agreed that the purchase of five $1,200 chairs for dispatchers was warranted.

The chairs, Lt. Ray Owens said, are specially manufactured for 24/7 usage. The chairs carry a 6-year warranty and are designed to minimize stress points and muscle pain.

“I understand they are 24-7, 911 emergency dispatch chairs, but $1,200 chairs?” Commissioner Keith Seagle said. “Gosh, that’s just a lot. It seems to me to smack of other people’s money. I recommend we disapprove this given our economy and the way revenues are. This seems extravagant.”

Owens responded that these chairs, being purchased through Hudson Office Supply in Dothan, would best serve dispatchers. The commission approved the purchase in a 7-1 vote with Seagle voting no.