Richmond passes joint 911 resolution, follows in Berea's footsteps

Spencer Mahon, Richmond Register, Ky.
·2 min read

Apr. 10—The Richmond City Commission passed a resolution that would allow the county to move forward with a joint 911 ordinance for the coming post-CSEPP era.

The city followed in the footsteps of Berea, who passed a very similar resolution last week. Berea, Richmond, and the county will be all paying a fee of $75 for residents. Businesses would be paying a more expensive 911 fee.

According to City Manager Rob Minerich, this would be seen on the property tax bill this fall.

"This supports the county in moving forward with an ordinance that would implement this 911 fee," said city manager Rob Minerich.

Minerich said that the task force put several months of work into this plan with CSEPP going away soon.

"We all know this was a tough decision but we've enjoyed over the past three decades millions of dollars funded through CSEPP to provide us with what is considered the 'Cadillac' of 911 services," Minerich said.

Minerich told the commission that it's time for all the governments throughout the county to come together and pay the tab.

Back in October, the Bluegrass Army Depot (BGAD) celebrated a major accomplishment, destroying the final dangerous chemical weapon is the United States's Chemical Weapon Stockpile at BGAD.

"It's the time where we will have to be willing to underwrite our safety," Richmond mayor Robert Blythe said.

With this appearing on the property tax bill this coming fall, some city commissioners thought the timing was a bit expeditious on putting the 911 fee on this fall's property tax bill.

Commissioner Jim Newby was among those worried about the timing of the bill, stating he's concerned about how people will adjust to something like that they are not used to.

Commissioner Mike Brewer was also concerned about the timing and asked the city manager if they had looked at other ways. Minerich told the commission that the city looked at a few other options but decided this was the best course of action.

When it came to a vote, the resolution passed with Brewer as the only opposed. Now it's in the county government's hands to draft an ordinance which would need to be read twice and passed in fiscal court to become law.

The next city commission and fiscal court meetings will be held in Richmond on April 23rd with fiscal court starting at 9:30 a.m. and city commission starting at 6 p.m.

You can also watch replays of events on the Fiscal Court's Facebook and YouTube pages and city commission meetings on the Richmond's YouTube channel.