Representatives from Seward, York, Saline and Butler county law enforcement agencies filled about half of the Seward County Commissioners’ audience section Jan. 27.
The topic was the interlocal agreement that allows the E911 center in Seward County to host the dispatch and records management software also used by York, Saline and Butler counties, as well as the police departments in Seward, Milford and York.
The Zuercher System software allows the agencies to share information on potential criminal activity and access other department’s reports. Dispatchers can utilize computer-aided record keeping to document calls and record law enforcement movement in the area.
The collaborative effort has been governed since 2019 by an interlocal agreement.
While the interlocal agreement has worked well over these years, it did not include provisions to allow another county – in this case, Fillmore County – to join the group.
County commissioners in December discussed the interlocal agreement and Fillmore County’s entry into the multi-user system, including the possibility of charging a fee to reflect the original entities’ investment in the Zuercher/Central Square database software.
But on Jan. 27, Seward County Commissioner Darrell Zabrocki reported that the group overseeing the collaborative efforts around E911 and the E911 director had voted the previous week to add Fillmore County to the interlocal agreement, but without a fee.
Zabrocki serves as the county board’s liaison with the E911 Board.
The participating organizations now purchase their own Zuercher/Central Square software packages to participate in the interlocal group, and the members of the Zuercher user group – the people who manage the database among all the group’s members – came to the commissioner’s meeting to explain the evolution of the expenses.
E911 Director Mariá Scamehorn was joined by Saline County Sheriff Alan Moore, Alexis Bursesh, manager for the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Capt. Josh Gillespie of the York County Sheriff’s Office and Tom Nielsen from Soarin Group, a technology firm used by Seward and other counties at the meeting.
Seward County’s Deputy County Attorney Barb Armstead said the group’s interlocal agreement had expired in November and she had circulated an extension for members to sign. She was waiting for two of those to be returned by the end of the meeting.
Armstead will meet with the user group in February to create an updated interlocal agreement reflecting the current governance and how additional groups could be added to the pact.
Seward County Board of Commissioners Chair Misty Ahmic said in a later interview the board does not have a lot of insight into the Zuercher system, but remains fiscally responsible for Seward County’s portion of it, which includes being the host site.
She said there had been some miscommunication and a need for clarity on some issues. Also, there is concern about ongoing costs for the system and the cost of shifting to cloud technology services.
But she said the commissioners, the E911 Board and the user group have roles that may be better defined in the new agreement, which will eventually be on the county’s agenda.
“At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to review and make sure the contracts are in the best interest of Seward County,” Ahmic said.
