October 24, 2006

Technology sparks debate

       An online mapping system would have helped the Franklin police chief quickly find the home where two murders occurred this summer.  Because the subdivision is new and the road wasn't yet on the department's maps, Franklin Police Chief John Borges didn't know the location on Aberdeen Drive where Blake and Chynna L. Dickus were found dead in July.  But a mapping system, called geographic information system, would have pinpointed the location on a computer screen in his vehicle, showing him exactly how to get there.

         County commissioners want to use part of a fee for emergency services, which was increased in January, to pay for the new system to be used throughout Johnson County. A geographic information system, better known as GIS, would allow the county to put maps of roads, zoning distinctions and homes into an online system that could be accessed by residents, businesses and emergency workers.  But some local and emergency officials aren't sure if the money should come from a fee that is intended to help emergency workers since the system also can be used by businesses and different county offices.  Officials from Franklin police, Johnson County Sheriff's Office, White River and Greenwood fire departments said the system would help them with their response times and their jobs.  But the Greenwood police chief doesn't think the technology is the best way to spend a fee that police and fire departments need to purchase better equipment.  "I can think of 25 other things we can use 911 funds for," Greenwood Police Chief Joe Pitcher said. "Until they fix the basic system, any effort toward GIS is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars."  The technology is useless in Greenwood officers' cars until they get better basic equipment, Pitcher said.  His understanding, and that of at least two county council members, was that the increase in the emergency fee would pay for those needs.  The council approved an increase on the emergency 911 fee, which is charged to every landline telephone, of about $15 more per year. Council members said they thought the estimated $2 million per year would pay for emergency radios, laptops and radio towers.  But Borges and the spokesman for the White River Fire Department said the maps would help them respond to calls more quickly and help workers do their jobs better.

         Now, commissioners want the council to approve spending some of the fee money on a new employee, who would coordinate and update the GIS system and make sure all the cities and towns are communicating with each other, Commissioner Mitch Ripley said.  The council would have to approve the new position and its salary, an estimated $50,000 per year, before the person could be hired.  Council members Rick Mason and Paul Reed both said they believed the increase in fees would be spent on equipment for emergency workers, such as fire and police departments, when they gave their approval.  And council member John Price said he wants to know whether the positions really are needed and whether the county can make money off the system.  Both commissioners Ripley and R.J. McConnell have said they thought the system and employees needed to run it would be part of that fee increase and wouldn't have voted for it otherwise.  "That is exactly what I believed when we proposed increasing the 911 fee. It is what I believed we would pay for," Ripley said.  Commissioners already have a person in mind for the director position and will hire him if the council approves the expense.  The county also will change a position already paid for with emergency 911 fees to focus on the system. Commissioners approved 2-0 the new hires Monday. McConnell was not present at the meeting.  The two boards will meet next month to discuss the position.  Council members wanted to review job descriptions for the position at this month's meeting and postponed the discussion to November.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal.)
 
 

---