The Stoddard County 911 Services Board voted to purchase a new copier at a cost of $8,805 at their regular meeting Thursday night. The board also discussed the failure of HB 714 to pass the senate prior to end of the legislative session.
County 911 Services Administrator Carol Moreland said the old copier in the 911 Services building was "obsolete," and parts were no longer available for repairs. She said it was undependable and a new one was needed.
Moreland presented the cost of purchasing a new Konica Minolta C364e from Shelton Business Machines. The copier also has scanning and fax capabilities. The cost of the machine was $8,805, but there was an option to lease to purchase for $164.65 per month. There was also a service contract based on the number of copies. She asked if the board preferred to buy the copier outright, or lease to own.
"When did we buy the old one?" asked Board Member Mike Reinbott.
Moreland said it was either in 2009 or 2010, but it was used when it was purchased.
Board President Trevor Pulley asked if they could get anything for the old copier as a trade-in. Board Member Leroy Stockton said it should be worth something just for the parts.
Board Member Dave Cooper made a motion to purchase the machine outright, with Moreland to look see if they could get anything as a trade-in on the old machine. It was seconded by Board Member Gary Kitchen, and passed by a 7-1 vote. Reinbott was the sole dissenting vote. Also present were Board Members LaVeda Banken, Daronda Stovall, Doug Siler, John Stepp and Andy Holden. Donna Deardorff was not present.
Moreland said she was very disappointed that the HB 714 was not approved in the senate. The bill would have allowed local 911 services to levy a fee on all devices capable of calling 911 if approved by local voters. Currently, 911 services in the county are paid solely through a fee on land line telephones. The reduction in the number of land lines and an increase in cell phones have cut funding for 911 services. The bill was passed by the House and was approved by both Senate committees. It was to be brought up before the full Senate for approval.
Many bills in the senate died after Senate Republicans used a procedural tactic to pass right-to-work legislation. Reaction to the right-to-work passage led to a filibuster in the Senate in the final days, basically shutting it down.
"We did not get an exact count, but it appears there were well over 20 pieces of legislation that this filibuster kept from coming to the senate floor," said Steve Hoskins MOAPCO Vice President. "HB 714, our 911 bill, was one of those that was killed by this general filibuster."
Moreland said another factor in the failure of the bill to pass was that a rider was put into the bill that would have allowed Stoddard County to continue to have an appointed board, even if a sales tax were passed by voters. She noted without that rider, the board would have to be elected if 911 Services receives tax revenue.
Moreland said it was possible that the current bill could be refiled and passed in the next session in 2016. She said the board should continue to work toward getting a sales tax on the ballot for county voters. She said something had to be done to raise revenue for local 911 service.
In the committee reports, Addressing Committee Chair Stovall noted there have been only two new 911 addresses in May. She said that brings the total of new addresses for the year to 28.
Moreland reported that all the 911 education presentations to county schools had been completed. She said the last one was Wednesday.
Under the building and grounds report, Reinbott said the board should look at purchasing and installing rubber mulch on the 911 building grounds. He said, unlike traditional mulch, the rubber mulch kept its color and lasts for years. He said it was about twice as much in cost as traditional mulch.
Pulley noted that he had to re-mulch every year, and that Moreland should look further into the rubber mulch.
In the 911 calls report, Cooper said there were 1,061 calls to 911 in April. He pointed out that 75 percent, or 879 of those calls, came from cell phone users. Of the total, 683 were for EMS, 289 were for law enforcement and 33 were for fire departments.
In final action, the board voted to pay $11,136.27 in accounts payable for the month, and to transfer $16,000 to the 911 Services checking account.