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Mendota prepares backup dispatch plan if sheriff’s office deal fails · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Mendota prepares backup dispatch plan if Sheriff's office deal fails.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Matthias Werner, This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Mendota is
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  Speaker 1: preparing a backup plan if it's move away from Illinois
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  Speaker 1: Valley Regional Dispatch falls through. Mayor Dave Balsk said this
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  Speaker 1: week the city has discussed switching to the LaSalle County
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  Speaker 1: Sheriff's Office for emergency dispatch services, but Belk said he
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  Speaker 1: has contacted two other dispatch centers as contingencies. He refused
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  Speaker 1: to name them or disclose their proposals, saying only that
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  Speaker 1: they are most likely outside the county. I can say
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  Speaker 1: that we have other options, Bulk said no terms have
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  Speaker 1: been signed on because they're backup options. Mendota Police Chief
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  Speaker 1: Jason Martin said that Bulk indicated to him that they
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  Speaker 1: would be willing to service Mendota for a similar price
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  Speaker 1: to that of the offer from the LaSalle County Sheriff's
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  Speaker 1: Office if the city's transition to the Sheriff's office is blocked.
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  Speaker 1: Despite the interactions with other dispatch centers, Bulk said they
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  Speaker 1: ought to be meaningless given the intent to move to
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  Speaker 1: the Sheriff's office. I feel good about the county option,
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  Speaker 1: Bulk said, I've ruffled some feathers down south of us,
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  Speaker 1: and everybody's in an uproar. Mendota's potential switch in dispatch
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  Speaker 1: operators has been a topic of discussion at the county
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  Speaker 1: level for months and was only intensified by the city
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  Speaker 1: Council's authorization to withdraw from Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch earlier
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  Speaker 1: this month. The break has not been made as of yet,
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  Speaker 1: with multiple steps in place. Before Mendota can change dispatch
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  Speaker 1: providers to the Sheriff's office, the City of Mendota must
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  Speaker 1: approve the final costs of withdrawing from Illinois Valley Regional
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  Speaker 1: Dispatch as determined by the Independent Dispatch Center. Those costs
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  Speaker 1: include the two year total of service fees in order
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  Speaker 1: to leave without two years notice, equipment and building costs,
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  Speaker 1: as well as staffing costs. Once approved by the Mendota
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  Speaker 1: City Council, the official move to depart from Illinois Valley
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  Speaker 1: Regional Dispatch will be presented to the Joint Emergency Telephone
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  Speaker 1: Systems Board, requiring a five to seventh vote from the
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  Speaker 1: member communities of LaSalle County, Mendota, Ottawa, Marseille, Peru, Lasal
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  Speaker 1: and Oglesby to be approved. Peru, LaSalle, and Oglesby are
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  Speaker 1: the other core communities of Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch. If
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  Speaker 1: passed by the Joint Emergency Telephone Systems Board, the issue
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  Speaker 1: gets put in front of the LaSalle County Board, which
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  Speaker 1: will require a two thirds majority vote to allow the
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  Speaker 1: transaction to go through and be officially recognized. If any
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  Speaker 1: of these roadblocks stump Mendota's move, Boelk said the secondary
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  Speaker 1: options could come into play