Vivian Sade, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Allen County officials will meet with Fort Wayne to see whether the city’s share of an unexpected state windfall can be used to pay for some larger projects, such as the upgrade of the city-county 911 call center.

The state revealed a $206 million error this month that shortchanged local units of government millions of dollars. Officials promised to expedite the money owed to cities, counties and towns.

The county will receive about $4.5 million in unexpected revenue from the state’s disbursement, County Auditor Tera Klutz told the County Council on Thursday.

County Councilman Darren Vogt, R-3rd, suggested the council not rush to spend the money but instead meet with members of Fort Wayne City Council to discuss using some of the money to help pay for the 911 call center project.

The upgrade includes radios, radio equipment, computers and software, and the project must be completed this year as part of an unfunded federal mandate. The Federal Communications Commission has stipulated that emergency services must have “narrow band” communications frequencies by Jan. 1, 2013.

Cost estimates for the project are between $15 million and $20 million, Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters said.

The Consolidated Communications Partnership Board oversees the 911 call center, and board members said Tuesday they are in negotiations with Motorola to reach a final figure.

The board is a merger of the emergency communication systems of Allen County and Fort Wayne and oversees the emergency dispatch center. The city pays 70 percent of the costs, and the county covers 30 percent.

Currently, Peters said, the call center’s budget is just less than $7 million a year while it takes in about $2.4 million a year in revenue. Property taxes and E-911 fees – collected by service providers and appearing on phone and cellphone monthly bills – pay for the combined communications department.

Peters said he was disappointed in the process and found it surprising that the Consolidated Communications Partnership Board selected Motorola before it had funding in place. And, other local players at the table did not get a fair shot, he said.

“Nothing against Motorola, but they now are the only vendor and now have the upper hand” in negotiations, Peters said.

Requests for proposals were received in October from Motorola Solutions, Watson Dispatch, Relm Wireless and J&K Communications. Unlike traditional bids, the requests for proposals do not have to be opened at a public meeting, are subject to negotiation and do not require the announcement of prices.

County Council President Larry Brown shared Peters’ sentiment.

“I was disappointed that the process was geared toward one vendor and was not done in a competitive manner,” Brown said.

Peters had cautioned the Consolidated Communications Partnership Board in December to steer clear of using property tax revenues for the project because that could make it subject to remonstrance or referendum efforts.

A remonstrance can be filed for any capital improvement project exceeding $2 million, and a referendum can be filed for any capital project over $12 million. It is too late at this point to get a referendum on the primary ballot, and that would undoubtedly delay the project, Peters said.

“At theof the day, this is going to cost us,” Peters said.

County Attorney John Feighner, a member of the Consolidated Communications Partnership Board, has repeatedly cautioned the board not to move forward until financing is secured.

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