At their recent meetings, both the Carroll County Board of Supervisors and the Carroll City Council agreed to dissolve a current agreement and enter into a new one. City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver, explained the changes for what has been known as the City/County Communication System. This has been jointly funded by the city and county since it’s inception in 1975 on a 50/50 basis. Pogge-Weaver reported that in Fiscal Year 2022, the city budgeted $240,853 for this operation, which at first serviced just the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Carroll Police Department.
The communication center has been a highly debated topic by both city and county governments. The city has called their contribution a double taxing because residents are paying both on the city and county level. Conversely, the county government presented factual data showing that the majority of communications coming into the call center are from the City of Carroll. The two, however, have negotiated into the new agreement that the city will now pay a flat fee.
The agreement further stipulates that $60,000 shall be used by the county for employee pension and insurance costs. With the disbanding of the Carroll City/County Communications Committee, the county will now have oversight of the Public Safety Communication Service.
