911 Board Gets Audit Report, Update on Installation of New Dispatch Consoles

Effingham County 911 board members Tuesday got a report on the audit of the past fiscal year's books. The Board heard 911 got a clean audit.

Representatives of West and Company CPAs shared that 911 spent about $83,000 more than was received, a 6.78% decrease in the fund balance. One reason for the drop was a $25,000 decline in income from fees. The other cause was an increase in STARCOM user fees to cover the Sheriff's Department utilization of the system and an increase in fees paid by 911 to the City of Effingham and County of Effingham.

The audit was laid over for further inspection, with a vote to accept the audit expected at the March meeting.

The 911 Board also learned that installation of new consoles in the two dispatching points has slowed. Fire Chief Joe Holomy, who chairs the equipment committee for the 911 Board, said the "hiccup" was the need for a router that will insure that officers in the field will be connected to the network 24/7. Without the router, access to one of the STARCOM hubs can not be guaranteed. Holomy said once the router is in place, the installation of the consoles can be completed.

911 Board members also heard that a surcharge on wireless 911 calls will continue to be received. There were concerns that the revenue would be routed elsewhere by the State. 911 also received just over $6,700, retroactive to July 1.