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Show By ROSELYN KIRK Davis County Commissioners and Sheriff William "Dub" Lawrence ip, resolved one money question, but several were still unresolved after a two-hour County Commission meeting last week. TWO OF the issues revolved around the funding of paramedic service. Sheriff Lawrence began to push for the service over a year ago and has ultimately committed com-mitted 18 deputies in his department to the paramedic service. - The commission agreed to provide V about $4,400 to fund a communications net in the north end of the county, necessary " for the initiation of the paramedic service, but said they would have to sit down with -rt the auditor to determine whether there i was money for the additional manpower necessary before the program is initiated August 1. COMMISSIONERS agreed that the ! communications equipment should be ordered or-dered by the sheriff with the understanding understand-ing that it would be placed on invoice and paid for in the 1978 budget after January Sheriff Lawrence said he was acting as spokesman for fire departments and city officials in Clinton, South Weber, Sunset and Syracuse, who are attempting to fund a communications systems which will tie in with the Sheriff's central dispatch center. 'II ACCORDING TO Sheriff Lawrence a repeater needs to be installed either in DRoy or in the Sunset City offices, which would eliminate dead space in the present T communications system. He said the ci-l ci-l ties have budgeted money and intend to spend from $10,000 to $17,000 each to fund SI equipment for pagers and mobile radios for fire trucks. IThe money allocated by the county would pay for a repeater, a directional antenna and line. i SHERIFF LAWRENCE argued that ci-I ci-I ties in the south end of the county already 2 had an adequate communications system and the commission owed the same con-sideration con-sideration to the north. The south end of the county communicates through a sys-"J sys-"J tern set up by the county through the J South Davis Fire Department and the South Davis Ambulance Service. Jk There was some confusion as to whether half of the money necessary for the communications com-munications system would be available through an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) grant which was awarded to the Y county last week. But a study of the funding seemed to indicate that the money available there, would be used only for telemetry equipment. AFTER SOME deliberation, the com- mission decided to work out the funding if the payment could wait until Jan. 1. Commissioner Glen Flint said, "We want to treat the north end the same as we treat the south." Sheriff Lawrence said his men will continue to provide the manpower necessary to man the dispatch center, along with the added responsibility. The matter of the additional four men who will be needed to provide manpower for the paramedic-EMT teams was not so easily resolved. These men will provide paramedic service to the north end of the county August 1. Another nine men will be needed by the end of 1978. BOTH THE commissioners and the sheriff said the cost to the county hiring four men will be about $25,000 this year, including salary and benefits. When all 13 men are added to the paramedic force by the end of next year, the cost to the county will be about $195,000. Commissioner C. E. Moss said the decision on whether to hire the additional men could not be made until the commission com-mission sits down with the auditor to determine de-termine whether the money needed this year is available in the budget. Commissioner Commis-sioner Moss said the county may have to levy additional mills to pay for the paramedic service. SHERIFF LAWRENCE pressed for an early decision since the paramedic ser-. vice is scheduled to go into operation in less than three weeks. In another money matter, the commission commis-sion said that a cost of living raise would not be forthcoming to county employees, including sheriff's deputies in July. A raise was approved last July, although the county budget operates on the calendar , year. Commissioners pointed out that all county employees received a five percent cost of living raise in January. SHERIFF LAWRENCE said the starting start-ing salary for a sheriff's deputy was $794, lower than other most law enforcement officers in the county and the state. Not only are the salaries lower, Sheriff Lawrence said, but that the failure to provide a cost of living raise in July would place deputies further behind. According to County Clerk Rod Walker, county employees have been given a cost of living raise in July for the last three years, but were told not to expect it this year. MR. WALKER and the County Commissioners Com-missioners said that not only are the . sheriff's deputies paid less money, but other county employees are paid less than employees in most of the cities in the county. Sheriff Lawrence questioned when the matter of salaries would be addressed. Commissioner Moss said the matter would be considered when the commissioners commis-sioners began to work with the budget later this fall. |