Commissioners concerned about CCECC agreement

Cheyenne County Commissioners Monday expressed concerns over amendments to its interlocal cooperation agreement with City of Sidney for the Emergency Communications Center.

The city pays 65 percent of the CCECC’s expenses and the county 35 percent.

The communications center provides services for all Cheyenne County public entities. Its affairs are overseen by an independent authority board comprising one county commissioner, the county sheriff, city chief of police, city manager and a Cheyenne County citizen.

An amendment approved by the city council at their Sept. 26 meeting requests a rotating chairman be appointed, Paul Schaub, county attorney, explained.

“It includes that provision,” he said, “indicating the directors of the authority board appoint a chair person at the beginning of each fiscal year, but they proposed a provision that would require rotation of the members.”

Schaub said he has “reservations” about an independent board having a rotating chairman.

“The more you try to dictate what it is this independent board is doing, if there comes a time down the road somebody wants to take action against the board, the argument could be made there’s a clear identification against the county and the city because they try to control this entity,” he said.

Commissioner Randal Miller expressed similar concerns.

“The city wants to rotate it, and the county wants to have the authority board be in charge of their own board,” he said. “It is an independent board and our county attorney said it’s important to maintain the independence of the board, so why would (the city) be so quick to not do that?”

He added, “I would like to hear from the authority board, see what they choose, which way they’d like to go.”

Commissioner Philip Sanders argued the chair only conducts the meetings.

“Depending on how you look at it, the chairperson may not have as much authority,” Schaub said. “Ultimately, that can be a breaking point or not.”

Miller took umbrage at the communications center being housed at the county courthouse “free of charge.”

“We supply the manpower, the county does, and it pays all the insurance and the benefits, all of that,” Sanders said.

Heidi Gillespie, CCECC director, further explained, “We’re county employees, and it’s a county department, but the city pays 65 percent across the board, and that includes salaries and benefits.”

The discussion was continued

Tuesday at the meeting of the CCECC board.