August 18, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Journal photo by Aria Shephard
MACECOM 911 dispatcher Matt Heinrich answers and directs a 911 call at the dispatch center
in Shelton. Law enforcement and fire district agencies will pay more to use the 911 service next
year when MACECOM increases its rates to make up about $100,000 in costs that it has been
short the last year.
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By ARLA SHEPHARD
"We knew we had to raise our
Fire districts and law enforcement
agencies will pay more to use Mason user fee_. One of the issues we are
County's 911 dispatch center, MACE- ggli
COM, next year, when the dispatch stru ng with is that financial aspects
service implements changes to drive not Ithy
down its own costs are as hea as,hv...e.
were."
Starting in January of next year,
Mason County's 18 fire districts will
pay $15.90 per 911 call and law en- ployees and would receive different what we're paying for, especially at
forcement agencies, including the contracts, medical insurance and L & $15 a call."
county Sheriffs Office, the Shelton I coverage. Back in 2009, MACECOM began
Police~Dfe~rtmexk~b~.~~he Skokom- "It will eventually save lhoney in ~ec~iving a one-tenth Of 1 perosrtt
ish and Squaxin police'-~epartments, that we're finding cheaper aiterna- sales tax funds to offset user fees,
will pay $12.75 per 911 call. tives," Evander said. "It also gives us which drove down rates from law en-
All agencies now pay $10.59 per more control over personnel issues." forcement agencies and fire districts
call; MACECOM increased the rates MACECOM is governed by nine dramatically.
so that it would stop dipping into a elected and appointed officials and For instance, the Mason County
reserve fund, designated for equip- also has a legislative board, made up Sheriffs Office paid $371,373.64 in
ment replacement and repair, to pay of five elected officials, which reviews 2008 to MACECOM, compared to
the bills, said Jill Evander, director of the budget and deals with other finan- $204,427 in 2009. Fire District 5 paid
MACECOM. cial issues. $83,534 in 2008 and $22,316.47 in
"We knew we had to raise user Evander estimates that about 70 2009, though that figure then jumped
fees," Evander said. "One of the issues percent of the 911 calls MACECOMto $44,744.31 after the district con-
we are struggling with is that finan- receives are for law enforcement and solidated with the Shelten fire depart-
cial aspects are not as healthy as they 30 percent for fire districts, ment.
were." Board members from local fire dis- All fire districts and law enforce-
The 911 dispatch center, which ill- tricts have expressed frustration that ment agencies will see their rates go
tered more than 45,000 calls in 2010, the new user fees are not equal be- up in 2012, but none will surpass the
has been short $100,000 each year in tween fire protection and law enforce- fees they paid in 2008, before the one-
balancing its budget and has been us- ment agencies, and have advocated tenth of I percent sales taxs.
ing funds from its Equipment Repair for continued communication with"We passed our one-tenth of 1 per-
and Replacement Fund (ER&R). MACECOM to improve customer ser-cent sales tax to decrease our user
MACECOM functions somewhat vice with dispatch, fees, but those projections were made
autonomously but is affiliated with "We don't necessarily feel that 2012 before the economy went down,"
the City of Shelton, but plans to split [discussions are] closed yet," said Ma- Evander said. "The new rates, this
with the city next year as well, in or- son County Fire District 5 commis- was something we struggled with. Af-
der to save money, sioner Pat McGanney at a joint fire ter the end of last year's budget, we
Under the change, MACECOM em- district 2 and 5 meeting in Belfair last knew we were dipping into reserves
ployees would no longer be city era- week. "We're definitely not getting too much."
Photos by Natalie Johnson
City commissioner
Dawn Pannell voted
against drafting a res-
olution to put a one-
tenth of one percent
public safety sales tax
on the November
ballot last week, but
voted to approve the
resolution at Mon-
day's regular city com-
mission meeting.
Sales tax
Continued from page A-1
suggested that the county
should rebate that 15 per-
cent back to the city.
"In the future if the
one- tenth of i percent tax
passes ... rather than do-
ing the 85 percent]15 per-
cent split, [I suggest] that
the county commission
look at a yearly basis at
rebating that 15 percent
back to the City of Shel-
ton," she said.
PUD
Continued from page A-1
will see rate increases in 2012 and be-
yond, but that the PUD would work
to keep those increases small and
gradual.
"It's easier to do small rate increas-
es over time ... next year we will have
a rate increase," she said.
A rate increase in 2012 will likely
be below 15 percent, Wood said.
Because a customer rate increase
would not cover the BPA wholesale
rate increase in the first year, Wood
said the PUD would likely use reserve
money.
"We do have a Power Supply Re-
serve Fund to get us through those
switch from wholesale rates to rates
based on the market value of the pow-
er they sell.
"We continue to be concerned and
are watching it very closely," Wood
said. "To balance the national budget
Bonneville would have to go to market
rates ... to go to a market rate would
/
--- August 12,
A baby girl was born to
Rosemary & Harry. As with
all girls, she was to grow up
and marry. She was blessed
with 2 girls and 1 boy.: ~
Now her babies are having
babies, which are her pride
& joy. She is loved by many
& adored by all. Cindy
do..
Happy 50 Btrthday
From Your Loving
Family
\
1961 ---
for information and the return
of stolen older gas powered
CASE yellow backhoe
360-490-1191
- r~
A heartfelt, and belated, thank you goes out to all [[
l the people of Sbelton that found it in their heart to [I
l donate to the Zayden Shanks Memorial Fund. The I[
1 money that was donated and the outpouring of love ]]
that the Shanks family felt from this community I[
made an incredibly hard tune a little more bearable. II
The love and caring that was shownto our family
made us proud to be part of this great community.
COME SEE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR CHILD
NOW ENROLLING FOR 2011-20t2
Full Day Kindergarten & Grade 1
(combinedcloss) (LIMIT 12)
MT.
OLIVE LUTHERAN SCHOOL
206 E. WYANDOTTE
*Washington State Approved School
427.3165
s choolmolc~comcast.net
Four S~~~ ~ ~ \ t l
Call for Parties,
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specia SHELLFISH
Occasion Lunches DALLY wllh Chd Xinh 1'. i)wd~s Asian
~60) 427-8709. Open for Supper Tuesclay.suturdc~/
Downtown Shelton, Comer of 3rd and West Railroad i
bumps," she said.
A larger problem, Wood said, is
national pressure for BPA and other
federal power marketing agencies to
be a huge increase in cost
be a killer for our region."
... It
would __~
Shelton-Mason
1
BACK-TO-SCHOOl. IS RIGHT |
AROUND THE ¢ORNERI!
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' Pa
County Journal -Thursday, August 18, 2011 -