Friday, January 23, 2004
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Friday, January 23, 2004 |
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County sets two weeks for cities to get radio service resolved By JOHN THOMPSON A dispute that has lasted a decade may finally be coming to an end. The Coweta County Commission Tuesday night put the cities of Senoia and Grantville on a two week notice that they would have to find a solution to their administrative radio calls. For years, the towns have been using the county’s 911 service to run tags and call for back-up vehicles, in addition to real emergency calls. “This is something that I inherited and we’re going to find a solution,” said Commission Chairman Vernon “Mutt” Hunter. In November, the county gave the two cities a two month deadline to set up another system to handle administrative calls, but that deadline passed. Hunter and the other commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday the two cities would have to present a solution in two weeks, or face being cut off the system. Hunter wants to make it clear that residents in the two cities can still pick up and call 911 for real emergencies, but the administrative calls have to end. “We’re faced with having a situation that somebody could be calling for a real emergency and not be able to get through because somebody is doing a tag check,” he said. The debate started several years ago when the county informed Senoia and Grantville they could no longer handle administrative calls, such as tag checks, because the call center was being overrun by non-emergency calls. The city of Senoia looked at options, such as starting its own call center, but found the costs prohibitive. Hunter said if the officers are concerned about being to get in contact with someone, there’s a fairly easy and low cost solution. “They could by walkie talkies or cellphones and have somebody in an office,” he said.
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