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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-06-01 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF BATESVILLE,ARKANSAS TO EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE COUNTY, ARKANSAS AND THE CITY OF BATESVILLE, ARKANSAS WHEREIN INDEPENDENCE COUNTY SHALL ASSUME THE DUTY OF OPERATING THE 911 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATION CENTER FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES WHEREAS,the City Council of the City of Batesville, Arkansas recognizes their respective obligation to provide effective law enforcement and emergency services for the protection of the persons and property of their citizens; and, WHEREAS,the operation of a 911 Public Safety Communication Center is critical to said respective obligations; and WHEREAS,the Independence County and City of Batesville have limited financial resources in which to provide such protection; and WHEREAS, The City of Batesville must comply with the mandate of Amendment 10 of the Constitution of the State of Arkansas; and WHEREAS, this agreement provides for better or as good law enforcement services through the County assuming the duty of operating the 911 Public Safety Communications Center; and WHEREAS, this more equitably divides the parties' respective duties to finance said 911 Public Safety Communications Center; and WHEREAS, the City Council has a deep concern for the health, welfare, and protection of its citizens; and WHEREAS, after long and careful consideration the City Council has determined that it is in the best interests of the City, its citizens and their welfare, that this agreement be executed and put into effect. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BATESVILLE,ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the Mayor and City Clerk of the City of Batesville, Arkansas are hereby authorized and directed to execute and implement an Interlocal Agreement by and between Independence County, Arkansas and the City of Batesville, Arkansas wherein the County shall assume the duty of operating the 911 Public Safety Communications Center for the entire county on June 29, 2016 and the City shall contribute certain funds to the county for funding said operation. That a copy of said Interlocal Agreement is attached hereto and made apart hereof as though set out herein word for word. Section 2. The City Council hereby directs the Mayor of the City of Batesville to fulfill the conditions of this Interlocal Agreement, including, establishment of a board to effectuate this agreement and coordinate the efforts for carrying out this agreement, make the necessary expenditures and take all other steps necessary for the fulfillment of the City's obligations under this Agreement. Section 3. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herein are hereby repealed. EMERGENCY CLAUSE: The City of Batesville has an obligation to provide adequate protection for the persons and property of its citizens and this obligation must be met with limited financial resources; that this agreement equitably divides the duties to fund the 911 Public Safety Communications Center which will result in financial savings for the City; that Independence County is scheduled to assume control over the 911 Public Communications Center on June 29, 2016,therefore the need for this Ordinance to be effective is immediate; and that the Interlocal Agreement is in the best interest of the City and its citizens. Therefore an emergency is hereby declared to exits and this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage in order to preserve the public peace, health, and safety, as well as to protect the city economically. PASSED AND APPROVED this June, 2016. "2u- & '"M /.J"--, Honorable Rick Elumba ayor �enise M. Johnston, Clerk t I FILED INDEPENDENCE COUNTY and CITY OF BATESVILLE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT JUN 2016 :5*TIRK M 00UNTY&P THIS AGREEMENT, is made pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated § 14- 14-910 et seq. and § 12-10-305 et seq., by and between the County of Independence, Arkansas, (hereinafter referred to as the County), and the City of Batesville, Arkansas (hereinafter referred to as the City). WITNESSETH: (I) WHEREAS, the County and the City recognize their respective obligations to provide for the protection of the persons and property of their citizens; and (II) WHEREAS, the operation of a 911 Public Safety Communication Center is critical to said respective obligations; and (III) WHEREAS, through a previous agreement with the County the City has operated 911 Public Safety Communication Center; and (IV) WHEREAS, that said 911 Public Safety Communication Center has operated using the "Direct dispatch method", per Arkansas Code Annotated § 12-10-311 (1); and (V) WHEREAS, the County and the City have limited financial resources with which to provide for the 911 Public Safety Communication Center and have the common goals of equitably sharing the duty to finance said center and for the elimination of the duplication of finances and personnel between the County and the City; and (III) WHEREAS, the County and the City desire to maximize revenues and the benefits the citizens derive therefrom, and to comply with the mandate of Amendment 10 of the constitution for the State of Arkansas; and (V) WHEREAS, the County and the City are desirous of an Interlocal and Mutual Aid Agreement (herein after referred to as "Interlocal Agreement or Agreement") whereby the County would assume the duty of operating the 911 Public Safety Communication Center, and the City would in turn, provide revenues to the County; and (VI) WHEREAS, by entering into such Agreement, the City and the County would thereby be able to provide increased and better coordinated law enforcement for their citizens, and effectuate a savings of revenue, thereby allowing the County and the City to comply with Amendment 10 of the constitution of the State of Arkansas; and (VII) WHEREAS, acting completely in good faith, for the purpose of effectuating a savings of County and City revenues, equitably dividing the responsibilities of funding these necessary services, providing greater law enforcement protection for the citizens of the County and the City, and increasing the safety and welfare for all citizens affect hereby; NOW, THEREFORE, KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that for and consideration of the above premises, and for the mutual obligations hereby created and the mutual benefits so derived, the parties agree as follows: (A) It is the intent of the parties to create a long standing and permanent relationship with regard to the matter discussed herein. The City and the County shall coordinate their efforts to provide for a 911 Public Safety Communications Center (herein after also referred to as "Center".), at an equitable cost for their citizens through the Interlocal Agreement. Either party may, by majority vote of its respective governing body, elect to modify, or terminate this agreement. In order for this agreement to be modified, the governing bodies of both the City and the County must so indicate by a majority vote of their respective governing bodies. If the parties shall desire to terminate this agreement, the party or parties desiring to withdraw shall give the other party six (6) months written notification of their intent to withdraw. If either party wishes to terminate this agreement, the agreement will terminate at the end of the six (6) months notice period. For a period within which this agreement shall exist, the governing bodies may amend said agreement as provided hereinafter in Paragraph K. (B) The County shall assume the duty of operating the 911 Public Safety Communications Center for all of Independence County, Arkansas. That said Center shall continue to use the "Direct dispatch method," which is a telephone service to the 911 Public Safety Communication Center and, upon receipt of a 911 telephone request for service, a decision as to the proper action to be taken shall be made and the appropriate emergency responder dispatched in accordance with Arkansas Code Annotated § 12-10-311 (1). (C) In the event of the termination of this agreement, the parties shall each receive their respective property contributed to the operation of said Center, whether leased, rented, purchased or borrowed. Each party shall keep a list of assets, properly and visibly identified with tags or markings with regard to ownership. (D) That the County shall make the Center accessible to City employees, its agents, or designees for the maintenance and repair of its radio transmission equipment and associated devices. (E) That City personnel which are currently employed at the 911 Public Safety Communication Center shall become County Employees as of the effective date of the transfer of 911 duties from the City to the County. That this provision does not create an employment contract with the new County 911 Public Safety Communication Center employees who shall be at will employees of the County. (F) That the County shall retain all revenues derived from the operation of the 911 System, including any Commercial Mobile Radio Service revenues generated. (G) That the City shall be obligated to pay the County the total annual sum of$63,000.00 as payment for the sole purpose of funding the 911 Public Safety Communication Center which shall have the duty of dispatching for all City emergency services including the City's Police Department and for the City's Fire Department. To effectuate said payment the County Clerk shall send the City a bill on March 10, June 10, September 10, and December 10, requesting 1/4 of$63,000 ($15,750) per bill. The City shall in turn pay the County on or before March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31 respectively for the requested amounts. That the first payment shall be prorated based on the number of days the County operated the Center during the initial quarter of this agreement. That one goal of this agreement is to equitably divide the duty to fund the Center between the County and the City. In order to achieve this goal any changes in costs and revenues involved with the operation of the Center shall be grounds for either party to call for an Interlocal Board meeting outlined under paragraph (I) in order to reevaluate and/or recommend changes to this agreement. Any changes to the s i annual amount due to the County from the City under this agreement shall only become effective on the first day of the following year. Any such changes shall be agreed upon and made by amendment to this agreement at least 90 days prior to January 1 of the new year (H) There shall be a Board created by the City and the County for the purpose of effectuating this Agreement and coordinating the efforts necessary for carrying out this Agreement. This Board shall consist of the Sheriff of the County, the Mayor of the City, the County Judge, two (2) members of the City Council of the City of Batesville appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council and two (2) members of the Quorum Court of Independence County, appointed by the County Judge and approved by the Quorum Court. The sole purpose of the Board shall be to carry out the purposes of the Agreement and to coordinate the effort of the parties that may arise from time to time. (I) The Interlocal Board shall meet at least once per year at a time so agreed by the parties. Special meetings may be called as the need arises by the Mayor, the Sheriff, the County Judge or any member of the Interlocal Board. The County Clerk and City Clerk shall attend the annual meetings for the purpose of keeping minutes. They shall provide copies of the minutes to the City Council and Quorum Court. The County Clerk shall give a report regarding Dispatching personnel as to the number, salary and position of said employees at said annual meetings. (J) The Interlocal Board shall in no way be constructed to be a Civil Service Commission or Grievance Committee and shall only serve for the effectuation and coordination of this Agreement. (K) This Agreement may be amended at any time by the majority vote of both parties. The party desiring to amend this agreement shall draft their proposed amendment and, after passage by their governing body, submit the proposed amendment to the other party, whereupon said party's governing body shall vote upon said proposed amendment. Should the amendment be accepted by a majority of both parties, it will thereafter become a part of this Agreement. Should either party fail to approve of a proposed amendment, it will have no force or effect. (L) The various provisions and parts of this agreement are hereby declared to be severable and if any section of part of a section, provision or part of a provision herein, is found by a court to be in violation of Arkansas Law then such finding shall not invalidate or effect the remainder of this Agreement. (M) This Agreement supersedes all previous agreement and amendments thereto that relate to the operation of the 911 Public Safety Communications Center. Any prior procedures, practices, or methods of operation that are inconsistent with this agreement are hereby repealed. (N) That operational transfer of the 911 Public Safety Communications Center from the City of Batesville to Independence County shall be at 12 a.m. on June 29, 2016, at which time all employees at the Center shall become County employees. However, City health insurance and all other City Benefits, such as retirement plans, shall continue for said employees until 12 a.m on July 1, 2016, at which point the County shall be responsible for providing health insurance and other county benefits which are standard for their employees. (0) The effective date of this agreement shall be based upon the later date of the passage of this agreement by the governing bodies of both the City of Batesville and Independence County. IN WITNESS HERETO, Independence County, Arkansas, and the City of Batesville, Arkansas, have executed this document by their duly elected officers who are authorized to represent the respective parties hereto in assuring the rights and obligations set forth herein this J()tLday of— JUIAL 12016. INDEPENDENCE COUNTY, ARKANSAS ATTEST: KIVJAJ �Ml t r'h dtfickp' BY: U -djtJNTY CLERK COU1--4Y j7U--D G- A CITY OF BATESVILLE, ARKANSAS ATTEST: - BY: CITY CL RK MAYOR 1, Steve Jeffery, the duly elected Sheriff of Independence County, Arkansas do hereby signify that I ratify and approve the above and foregoing agreement and pledge to use all efforts to effectuate and carry out same, to the best of my ability. BY: STEVE JEFF vJh flIMIFF