Perryville debates increase in 911 funding

PERRYVILLE — Several Perryville City Council members expressed concern Thursday about the city’s ability to increase its share of funding for the Boyle County 911 Center.
City representatives have been in negotiations with the county, Danville, and Junction City recently as Danville has sought to bring contribution levels set more than 20 years ago in line with current costs.
The governments agreed in the late 1980s to fund the center based on call volume. However, as the years have gone by, the amounts paid by the two smaller municipalities and the county have remained largely unchanged as the cost of operating the center has increased.
Councilwoman Jennifer Bodner said Perryville had been paying about $700 per year, but based on its call volume of less than 5 percent of the total for the entire county, it would now owe about $17,000.
Bodner said there are plans in Perryville’s draft budget to increase the allocation for the center four-fold to about $2,800, but money for the increase is difficult to find.
Councilman Harold Jones, one of those attending the meetings on the matter with representatives of other governments, said the city had its back against a rock wall.
“We cannot opt out of it because that’s unacceptable," Jones said. “But we’re not going to be able to do this without (Danville and Boyle) picking up part of it.”
Bodner said one option that has been discussed is for Perryville and Junction City to increase their spending by about 25 percent a year until they reach the full funding level. However, Bodner said the revenue outlook for the city will not support allocating what would represent about 15 percent of the city’s entire current budget.
“Our revenue has been what it has been for at least the last four years, and in five years, it will not be much different,” Bodner said. “We completely understand the necessity for trying to update this, but it’s not going to be possible for us to come anywhere near that amount without cutting a lot.”
The City Council decided to try to set up another meeting with the other parties involved to further address their reservations.
In other business, the council approved a recommended zone change for property on First Street near the intersection with U.S. 68. Changing the designation for the .67 of an acre owned by David Reynolds from residential to downtown will allow for multiple uses, including commercial.
Reynolds said he has owned the undeveloped property next to Perryville Furniture Outlet for 17 years and decided it was time to find a use for it, although he’s still not sure what he will do with it.