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Policies and Procedures for Lee County Dispatch

Lee County, IA – The oversight board for Lee County's new centralized emergency dispatch center has had to hit the ground running.

Lee County Sheriff Buck Jones chairs the nine-member panel. It met for the first time in August.

Jones says the board's top priority is the creation of a policy and procedure manual for the dispatch center. He says it will cover shift length, who can be in the control room, and how to answer a radio call, just to name a few topics.

Jones and fellow board members, Keokuk Police Chief Tom Crew and Fort Madison Police Chief Bruce Niggemeyer, are working together on the manual.

Jones says the board is also looking into hiring an executive director. He says this person should be knowledgeable in technology, dispatching standards, and E-911 procedures.

Jones says the salary for that employee would likely be shared by Keokuk, Fort Madison, and Lee County. He says that is because the tax levy to support the center will not generate money until October of 2010.

Jones says, if hired, the executive director would help with the hiring of dispatchers and lay-out of the dispatch center. He says the center could be up and running by October 2010.

The county currently has three dispatch centers. Employees of those facilities will likely be hired at the new center.

The Board of Directors

Lee County Sheriff Buck Jones
Keokuk Police Chief Tom Crew
Fort Madison Police Chief Bruce Niggemeyer
Jackson Township Fire Chief Paul Henson
Lee County Supervisor Janet Fife-LaFrenz
Fort Madison Alderman Chris Greenwald
Keokuk Alderman Mike O'Conner
Emergency Management Commission Representative Paul Walker
E-911 Representative Gary Haeffner.