9-1-1 employees get raises; design changed for new communications center

By Jessica Stith
of The Daily Times Staff



The Blount County 9-1-1 board approved its 2008-2009 fiscal budget, which included a 2 percent cost of living increase in employee salaries plus a 5 percent annual increase for some employees who had topped out in the pay scale.

Jeff Caylor, director of the Blount County Communications Center, said at the Blount County Emergency Communications Board meeting on Thursday that the current pay scale only has nine steps, and said several dispatchers had already topped out on the scale.

The board unanimously approved adding a 10th step to the scale, which would allow all employees to get a 5 percent annual increase. The increase is given at the anniversary of each dispatcher's start date at the communications center.

A 2 percent cost of living raise was also unanimously approved.
The board voted on the 2008-2009 budget, which was proposed at $2,028,844. The 2007-2008 budget was about $1,961,000, Caylor said. Members of the board unanimously approved the new budget.

Agency vehicle purchase

Also discussed at the meeting was the purchase of an agency vehicle, which Caylor said he hopes to buy within the next month. The board agreed at a May meeting to allow Caylor to spend up to $20,000 on the vehicle.

Caylor said they could purchase a new Chevrolet Trailblazer through a state contract for $19,381. Blount County Sheriff James Berrong. member of the board, made a motion to allow Caylor to spend the remainder of the money on maintenance on the vehicle for the next year. The board unanimously approved the motion.

Communications center

Also on the board's agenda was discussion of the new communications center, which was originally approved to be located in the basement of the proposed sheriff's office training facility. The training facility will be built on Honeysuckle Road behind the Alcoa-Maryville-Blount County Landfill.

Judge William R. Brewer, board chairman, said their architect and the sheriff's office architect have discussed the building plans and it was decided it would be more feasible to build two buildings on the property.

Berrong said they would still be sharing some of the same infrastructure but would be located in separate buildings. He said the additional building made more sense after examining the plans for each agency.

"We saw very little space that we were going to be able to commingle in," Berrong said.

Caylor said this would also allow room for the Blount County Emergency Management Agency to move in, and possibly bring some federal grant money. The emergency management agency is currently located on the third floor of the courthouse.

The emergency management agency plans to apply for grants with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If received, one of the grants would pay for at least 80 percent of costs needed to build an emergency operations center.
Another grant would pay 75 percent of costs to build a safe room, which could be located in the new communications center.

Brewer said the current communications center, located on Louisville Road by the U.S. 129 Bypass, is still for sale but no offers have been made. He said they have not been aggressive in selling the building because they are hoping they will not have to move twice.