Fate of Emergency Board May Be Decided at Springs’ Council Session
Trevor Phipps
Bring out the boxing gloves for a little tussle among regional leaders, first responders, Teller officials and the Colorado Springs’ City Council.
Yes, it’s fair to say that the city staff and mayor of Colorado Springs haven’t been making very many friends regionally. In fact, a recent proposal to yank the city from the regional 911 Authority Board has sparked a huge controversy and may create a big fiscal shortfall for Teller County. And then there is the question of what happens when you call for help, once outside Colorado Springs, and no one will answer your call.
The fight started when the city of Colorado Springs announced a proposal to pull out of the El Paso-Teller County Regional 911 Authority Board, as part of a fiscal decision. After the city made the announcement, several regional stakeholders have verbally blasted the move, including the Teller County commissioners, saying this could harm emergency services in areas outside of the Colorado Springs city limits.
The Cimarron Hills Fire Department, the El Paso County Sheriff and the Teller County Board of Commissioners have all made public statements condemning the city’s possible withdraw from the authority board. Earlier this month, the Teller County commissioners held a special press conference to urge the Colorado Springs City Council to reconsider this decision.
Then shortly after this press conference surfaced, the Colorado Springs City Council issued a statement in support of their regional partners. The statement said that it is up to the city council to decide whether Colorado Springs should continue to be a part of the 911 Authority Board.
Colorado Springs is the major funder for the authority board, which has existed for years.
Moreover, the statement said that the council wishes to negotiate with the authority board , instead of supporting a withdrawal.
The regional 911 authority provides considerable support in the form of software, training and infrastructure and coordinates dispatch centers in Cripple Creek, Woodland Park and at the Teller Sheriff’s Department and throughout the Pikes Peak area. The authority board makes sure that the dispatch centers can communicate with each other seamlessly when emergency calls cross emergency jurisdictions. The board helps ensure that if one dispatch center goes down due to a major emergency, then the other dispatch centers in the region can easily cover the emergency calls.
Not the Time for Sweeping Emergency Changes
Overall, regional leaders say that if Colorado Springs pulls from the authority board that seamless connection between jurisdictions could go away. It may even create gaps in emergency services in certain places in the Pikes Peak Region.
“Anyone of the jurisdictions pulling out of what’s been working for over three generations is a recipe for disaster,” County Commissioner Dan Williams said at the press conference. “If it’s fixed don’t break it.
The county commissioners said that now is not the time to jeopardize a working system. With wildfires raging and historic drought conditions persisting, the commissioners are worried about the impacts during a major emergency event like a wildfire.
Williams reiterated the fact that one of three ambulance calls in the county go to someone who isn’t a resident. Many of those who come to Teller County to recreate come from Colorado Springs.
Williams said that the regional partnerships, such as working towards expanded recreational opportunities with the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreational Alliance and the Ring the Peak Trail, would have to go away if they don’t get emergency support from Colorado Springs. “That’s not a threat, that’s the way it works when you’re a conservative county,” Williams said. “We can’t go back to the people of this county and ask for additional monies to support recreation when we have some entity that wants to pull out and hurt us.”
Overall, the county would experience a $2 million gap if Colorado Springs retreated from the authority board. The commissioners said that there were ways to make up for that money that they didn’t want to pursue, including raising taxes or establishing a recreation tax. The county officials urged Colorado Springs residents to petition their council to not retreat from the authority board.
Conflicting Opinions within the Colorado Springs Council
But from the perspective of the city of Colorado Springs, the problem comes down to money and the fact that the Springs is carrying the financial load of the authority and not necessarily receiving the benefits.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade and the Colorado Springs Police and Fire Departments said that creating a 911 authority board solely for the city would help it save money to the tune of nearly $4 million a year. The extra money could then be used to improve emergency response systems within the city, according to the mayor.
But then on July 15, the Colorado Springs City Council issued a statement to the media that sounded like the mayor’s announcement caught them off guard. The council said that only they have the authority to pull from the board or establish a new one.
“While City Council strongly supports Colorado Springs Police and Fire and shares their concerns about evolving needs of our community, City Council believes the real concerns…. could be negotiated with the Authority and that should be the first course of action,” the statement said.
However, City Councilman Dave Donelson released a statement saying that not all elected leaders agreed with the earlier statement issued to the media. “Citizens may be misled into believing there is universal support for this statement on council – however, that is not the case. I support the recommendation by our Police and Fire Chief to establish a fair use of funds which the citizens of Colorado Springs pay into the 911 authority. That is not currently happening.”
In a follow-up statement, the city council indicated they plan to hear from all stakeholders during a work session on August 10. This could open the door for negotiations, aimed at keeping the Springs on board with the 911 Authority Board. But it’s likely that new fiscal concessions and operational changes must be made to keep the board intact.
