Police found 15 Fentanyl patches in a shirt pocket and the underwear of Nichole Fritz, according to court documents.Mayor Tom Henry and the Allen County commissioners Monday announced a tentative agreement to merge 911 call centers – potentially ending years of stalled negotiations on emergency communications.
The agreement would place control of the merged emergency call center with a joint city-county board.
Henry said the deal would benefit public safety by eliminating the need to transfer 911 calls between departments and reducing wait times for people calling with emergencies.
But Commissioner Bill Brown voiced concerns about the deal and Sheriff Kenny Fries arrived to strongly oppose such a merger, saying a board overseeing public safety will cause unnecessary delays and reduce accountability.
Under the proposed agreement, the mayor and commissioners would each select three people to the seven-member board. The six appointees would choose the seventh member. The board model has been favored by city government historically, but opposed by county sheriffs, who have wanted authority over the merged department.
The city and county dispatchers work in adjoining rooms in the basement of the City-County Building and are separated by a glass wall.
In order to go ahead, the proposal must be approved by the commissioners, mayor the city council and county council. The commissioners could vote on it as early as Friday.
For more on this story, pick up Tuesday’s print editions of The Journal Gazette, or return to www.journalgazette.net after 4 a.m. Tuesday.
