The DeSoto Parish Police Jury voted 7-3 Tuesday night to abolish the DeSoto Parish Communications System Board of Commissioners and designate itself the governing authority instead.
Tensions over 911 operations have been building for a while.
The ordinance to abolish the board was accompanied by a letter signed by six different DeSoto Parish Fire Chiefs. In it, they state they have lost confidence in 911 Board Administrator Bruce Vanderhoven.
DeSoto Parish Fire Chiefs along with EMS and the Desoto Parish Sheriff’s Office are pushing for a unified dispatch system. They want all dispatchers in the same location so they can share resources and cut down on dispatch times.
Currently, 911 dispatchers take your call and transfer you to the needed agency.
District 1 Fire Chief Rusty Canton says talks over the issue have broken down repeatedly.
They believe Vanderhoven is holding up the talks and asked the Desoto Parish Police Jury to intervene.
“If if fixes the problem, that’s all we are asking. We are not trying to belittle anyone or point the finger at anyone. We just want to get back on track with communications so we can all be in the same room and make dispatch times better,” said Canton.
At Tuesday’s meeting, some police jurors took Vanderhoven’s side. Police Juror Jeri Burrell says the vote was about a personal vendetta, not public safety. She called for more transparency.
“They have some of the highest ratings in the state, so I can’t understand why they would dissolve this board. They don’t have a good reason. They did it to satisfy certain people,” said Burrell.
Mr. Vanderhoven did not want to comment to KSLA, He did answer questions from the Police Jurors about prior meetings with all the agencies. He said the last time he met with them was August.
Police Jurors will now have to study and work out a new dispatching system. The Desoto Parish Sheriff’s Office could end up handing those duties or there may be other changes.
http://www.ksla.com/2019/01/30/controversial-vote-desoto-police-jury-decides-abolish-board/
