KenCom Dispatching Dispute Back in Court

Oswego, Yorkville, Plano and KenCom attorneys will be back before a judge Wednesday – without an apparent settlement over sharing costs for the 911 dispatch service.

Leaders for the governmental entities have been arguing for months over efforts to have member agencies cover costs for the dispatching service that go beyond the money collected through a 911 telephone surcharge.

The county has covered any  operating expenses that went over the 911 telephone surcharge money collected since the dispatch service was created more than 20 years ago.

But in November,  supported a proposal that capped its annual contribution to $1.6 million, with Oswego, Yorkville, Plano and other member agencies covering any additional costs. Each member agency’s cost would be determined by the portion of calls that are dispatched to it.

Those three towns  and a proposal capping the county’s contribution at $1.88 million. Then, the County Board countered with a $1.775 million cap.

Since then, Yorkville aldermen have agreed to a $1,829,752 cap for the county and postponed voting on a measure supporting the $1.775 million cap. Yorkville aldermen unanimously voted Sept. 27 to table the proposal with the lower cap.

“The council felt we have a reasonable compromise at the last meeting,” Yorkville Mayor Gary Golinski said, of the $1.83 million cap.

Oswego Village Board members voted unanimously Tuesday night to rescind their Sept. 20 vote for a compromise $1.775 million cap.

"We have heard that the county still wants to find ways to change the contract whenever they want to, and we've decided to let a judge decide on the legality of that," said Oswego Village Trustee Scott Volpe.

Plano’s City Council also rejected an agreement with the $1.775 million cap, according to The Beacon-News.

The matter may be time-sensitive, though.

KenCom has told the leaders of the three towns that they are no longer considered KenCom members because they have not approved the cost-sharing agreement. KenCom leaders have indicated they will plan to transfer emergency calls to the local agencies by Dec. 1.

The lawsuit deals with whether the towns are members of the dispatching service and whether KenCom can, indeed, discontinue dispatching for them.

KenCom also includes the village of Newark, the Lisbon-Seward Fire Protection District, the Newark Fire Protection District, the Little Rock-Fox Fire Protection District, the Bristol-Kendall Fire Protection District and the Oswego Fire Protection District.