Collapse of countywide 911 fee shows what stuff local leaders are made of

It took a task force more than two years of back and forth negotiations conducted in bi-weekly meetings to create a new way to fund emergency communications across Madison County. At least two members from each jurisdiction in the county were a part of the task force.

When all was said and done, the three entities had an interlocal emergency communications plan--and a way to fund it--that all parties involved seemed to consider fair and sufficient enough to keep the County's 911 services running without interruption. And all jurisdictions passed ordinances to that effect.

And then, Richmond's Board of Commissioners blew it up.

After having already passed Richmond City Ordinance 2025-03, which explicitly referenced the agreed upon fee structure that Richmond was to participate in, the City's Commissioners and Mayor Robert Blythe accused the County of not being transparent about the fee, and passed another ordinance to pull out of the agreement. They not only would not participate in the agreement, but elected to cover their 2.4 million dollars of the total 4.28 million dollar emergency communications costs by dipping into the City's general fund.

The Edge already has reported on how the leadership of Richmond City apparently failed to understand the legislation they themselves had already passed, and also how they leveled an unfair accusation against their fellow leaders. But there are other aspects of the situation yet described, particularly when it comes to how other local officials reacted, and especially against the backdrop of how our federal elected officials tend to conduct themselves anymore.

First there is the pall of disrespect cast by Richmond's Board of Commissioners over the heads of the 13 first responder agencies across the County, as well as the task force members, and the leadership of our community's emergency management services, all of whom gave up precious time to ensure our County would continue to have reliable 911 services after decades of Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Plan, or CSEPP, funding came to and end, which it will do at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, practically speaking, the fall out of Richmond's decision has caused the leadership of the other two jurisdictions to scramble as they seek a path between public outcry and raising enough funds to cover their respective shares of the 4.28 million dollar emergency communication services budget beginning this year.

Under the previous 911 fee structure, the average residential property owner would have paid 32 dollars annually. Commercial and larger properties would have paid more. All totals were based on square feet.

But now, as County Deputy Executive Judge Executive Jill Williams told The Edge, with three smaller bodies instead of one larger one, and most of the commercial square footage being in Richmond and to some extent, Berea, the likelihood is that the fee will have to be higher than it would have been under the previous system.

Put succinctly, Richmond's leadership, by way of destroying the interlocal agreement it professed to understand when it enacted it into local law, has forced County and Berea leadership to go to each of their respective voters and ask for more money for the same amount of service.

The Fiscal Court's solution seems to be adding a fee to County water bills, but the formula for the rate has yet to be codified.

In Berea meanwhile, a work session held this week had an air of both urgency and unruliness as six Councilmembers talked over one another, broke into side discussions, and debated as a body, the best way for Berea to cover the nearly 900,000 dollars it will be responsible for when the bill comes due. Cora Jane Wilson and Steve Caudill were absent from Council's work session.

Berea's leaders are sensitive to how to calculate the 911 fee at a time when electricity rates for Berea Municipal Utilities have already gone up slightly this year. The Council also had passed a small property tax increase from 8.9 cents per every assessed $100 of value but after considering how much 911 fees might be, walked that increase right back to its current rate of 9.1 cents per every assessed $100 of value.

Since Richmond's decision, The Edge has covered multiple Fiscal Court and City Council meetings where a portion of the agenda was dedicated to devising a plan for what's next for 911. This news service also has covered a work session, and spoken from the sidelines with Judge Executive Reagan Taylor, Deputy Judge Executive Jill Williams, and Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley about their thoughts on the situation.

All could be seen to agree with Williams when she said in an interview, "I got good advice once from a long time and well respected public servant who told me to always be on the look out for good local policy, good local government, and good collaboration. That takes trust and loyalty, and it means putting the needs of citizens ahead of our own. It's always going to be a priority for us to work together."

Williams' sentiment is beatific, but would be meaningless if local officials' actions weren't demonstrative of this need to collaborate, regardless of whatever bewildering move their peers might have pulled. The Edge has witnessed no public officials grousing about the extra workload created for them by Richmond, and no one in the County or Berea local governments has expressed ill will toward their counterparts in Richmond, even when asked by a reporter to express their true feelings. The cynical, and perhaps snarky among us, might respond, "Of course not. They ain't fools!"

But to not be foolish requires restraint. And at a time when elected leaders in Washington seem to have little to no restraint, turning the nation's capitol into a hive of drama, observing how Madison County's local leaders, on the whole, have treated one another, even when provoked and even when compromised to their citizenry, shows a level of maturity that is reassuring.