City and county leaders to discuss dispatch funding with Hailey City Council Monday<br><font size=2>
By JASMIME LINABARY<br><i>Wood River Journal</i>


Local mayors and county commissioners will visit the Hailey City Council Monday to negotiate a reasonable sum for funding the dispatch system for 2009 and to look at a potential county override levy. 
This came out of a meeting Aug. 6 between mayors of Blaine County&#039;s five cities and Commissioner Tom Bowman to discuss funding for the emergency dispatch system in light of Hailey&#039;s proposed alternatives since the city has not allotted any of the &#036;258,000 being asked of it toward the system in its 2009 budget.
The emergency communications system receives and dispatches all 911 calls made in the county as well as administrative and non-emergency calls made to any of the county's emergency services after hours.
Hailey City Council member Martha Burke suggested that Hailey wanted to solve the problem and asked Bowman what the county would accept from the city for 2009, if solutions could be looked at for future years. Burke said Hailey has many of the area&#039;s employees as well as many services such as the majority of the county&#039;s schools and the airport that are used by all area residents, not just Hailey, and these need to be considered as factors in figuring out funding for the dispatch system.
Bowman said he was encouraged by Burke&#039;s suggestion to get through the first year and said if the county was to consider putting an override levy on the ballot, that decision would need to be made Aug. 19.
Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich expressed concerns that countywide levies tend to make Sun Valley, which is mostly comprised of second homeowners who don&#039;t get to vote, foot the bulk of the bill. Carey Mayor Rick Baird pointed out that the proportion Sun Valley pays compared to its tax base is significantly less than the percentage paid by the south Valley cities.
Hailey Mayor Rick Davis said the discussion would be put early on Monday&#039;s agenda and invited the other mayors to join Bowman at the meeting. The Hailey City Council meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall.
Read more in the Aug. 13 edition of the Wood River Journal.
	


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