AG's office: County must pay for 911 upgrades

The Ohio Attorney General's Office has sided with the local 911 providers in Trumbull County, saying the county is bound by an earlier agreement to pay for equipment upgrades at the seven municipal 911 call centers throughout the county.

"We're very happy about this," said Niles police Chief Bruce Simeone, spokesman for the Trumbull County Police Executives organization.

A committee from the police chiefs organization has been working to resolve issues with the county Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) 911 system.

"What this means is that every PSAP in the county can now be upgraded," Simeone said.

He said he hopes that the three centers that already paid on their own to improve the equipment ä Niles, Lordstown and Hubbard ä will be able to get compensated.

Trumbull is one of the few counties in Ohio to have collected the wireless surcharge money, which is projected to be about $1.5 million at the end of this year. If an agreement on how to use the money isn't reached by the end of the year, the county could lose the money.

The equipment money was just one of four issues being studied by the state office at the request of the county commissioners. Other questions commissioners had include the planás expiration date or creating a new plan.

Trumbull 911 director Michael Dolhancryk wants to use the money to improve the county operation. He claims that funding independent PSAPs is inefficient and a waste of money.

Dolhancryk said Friday afternoon that he would review the opinion over the weekend.

"On the surface, it looks like this will weaken the county's position," he said. "It tells us we have to put the best system together at the best cost. We have lot of work in front of us."

Newton Falls Mayor Pat Layshock said he was pleased with the opinion.

"I hope with this ruling the commissioners will begin doing their jobs," Layshock said. "I'm hoping they will plan to convene the 911 planning committee so we can address the problems facing 911."

The ruling states that even though there are expiration dates on the final agreement in the county, the Ohio Revised Code does not allow a 911 plan to terminate or automatically change without being amended through the same process by which it was created. That means, the state office ruled, that the current plan in place remains in affect until it is formally changed.

County Commissioner Paul Heltzel said he was confused by the opinion.

"The ruling is kind of odd. It says the 911 systemás plan can never terminate; that means it lasts to infinity. It is not very well done opinion," Heltzel said. "It does not have force of law."

Heltzel said he believed the Attorney Generalás Office wasn't the proper venue for the decision.

"If we need to get a legal interpretation, we will go to the county's court," he said.

Jim Luonuansuu, a spokesman for Lordstown and Newton Falls PSAPs, said he hoped the opinion lead to quick resolution of the issues surrounding county 911.

"This is very positive for everybody," Luonuansuu said. "Hopefully, this will bring the situation to a close fairly quickly. Itás been dragging on way too long for the safety of the residents."



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