Muncie Mayor Calls For End Of City-County 911 Agreement

Muncie’s mayor has given county officials notice that the city wants to dissolve the 911 agreement between Muncie and Delaware County.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, it’s the latest volley in a feud over the service’s future.

In a short letter dated November 30, Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler began a required 12-month timeline, notifying Delaware County commissioners he wanted to dissolve the city-county 911 agreement that’s been in place since late 2011.  Commissioners made the letter public in their Monday morning meeting.

Commissioner James King: “That letter – he didn’t put in there the reason why he agreed to…?”

County attorney John Brooke: “No.  Just specified that he was terminating it.”

James King: “Okay.”

This is not the first time the city-county 911 agreement’s future is in jeopardy.  County officials sent a similar letter to the city in February of 2016.  In 2017, a month before the agreement would have ended, the county rescinded its letter.  If Tyler doesn’t do the same with the current letter, the service would end just before December of 2019.

Tyler and county officials have disagreed for years over how much money each gives to fund the current joint 911 operation.  A report prepared for county commissioners in March shows 58 percent of emergency calls are for addresses within Muncie.  But the city and county split the costs of the service that aren’t paid for by local telephone taxes.

The mayor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Tyler has taken the idea of starting a city-operated EMS system to the Muncie City Council several times, but the action has ultimately been tabled each time.