Press release from the City of Fort Wayne:
Mayor Henry Welcomes New 911 Director
Joint City, County 911 Communications now in placeThe joint City-County Communications Partnership (CCP) formally kicked-off today as Timothy Lee began work as the new CCP Director.
Lee comes to the CCP from the Allen County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Department in Lima, Ohio, where he was a deputy sheriff and the director of communications for 22 agencies. He has 15 years of experience in law enforcement. Lee is a Marine Corps veteran where he served as a part of the Presidential honor guard at Camp David from 1990 to 1994. He has an associate’s degree from Rhodes State College in computer networking and is working toward a bachelor’s degree from Franklin University.
“The hiring and start of the new director is a significant step in realizing a goal that has extended over three decades for a single 911 call center to serve Fort Wayne and unincorporated Allen County. The City and County law enforcement have been working together informally for years and now the merger is official,” Mayor Tom Henry said. “Everyone involved wanted to make sure the director would have the right experience and leadership qualities to move the partnership forward. We know Tim Lee meets those requirements, and we are excited about having him lead the merger.”
In March, Mayor Henry, with unanimous support from the Allen County Commissioners, Fort Wayne City Council and Allen County Council, executed an interlocal agreement between the City of Fort Wayne and Allen County to form the separate Consolidated Communications Partnership (CCP) with an operations board consisting of Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries, Chief Deputy Dave Gladieux, Police Chief Rusty York and Fire Chief Pete Kelly.
The operations board will now work closely with Lee to accomplish the interlocal agreement’s directives, including a merger agreement with the current Multi Agency Communications Partnership, establishing wage and benefit plans for CCP employees, establishing policies and dispatch protocols, and creating benchmarks to measure success of the combined 911 dispatch center.
“There is no place that our one community message resonates with more power than in the realization of the unified City-County 911 call center. Our commitment to this kind of cooperation and collaboration will strengthen the community and improve efficiencies,” said Mayor Henry.
The CCP is a separate agency from City and County government, and existing employees of the City and County communications departments will become CCP employees.
The City Council and County Council will have budget oversight of the Consolidated Communications Partnership. The City’s controller will be responsible for the partnership’s accounting. The agreement that establishes the partnership lasts for three years and automatically renews for subsequent three-year periods unless terminated under the rules outlined.
The consolidated call center will remain in the City-County Building. Callers to 911 and emergency dispatch should experience no change in service levels during the transition to the Consolidated Communications Partnership.
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