POPLARVILLE — The board of aldermen was set to maintain to the board of supervisors on Wednesday that Sheriff David Allison does not have the authority to decide whether or not to re-direct E911 calls to the City of Poplarville police department. Right now the sheriff’s department takes 911 calls from city residents and immediately, directly dispatches a Poplarville unit on the emergency call.

On Wednesday at noon Poplarville Mayor Billy Spiers was ensconced in an executive session with supervisors at the recessed meeting of the board of supervisors.

Spiers, after an extended discussion with the board of aldermen and Poplarville city attorney Martin T. Smith, Tuesday night told aldermen on that he would talk to supervisors on Wednesday about the dispatching issue, and said he would prefer it be in an executive session, but was not sure whether it would be closed to the public or not.

On Wednesday, during discussion leading up to the executive session, supervisor Anthony Hales, Sr., said that Spiers had requested the discussion between him and the board be held in executive session. Supervisors then cleared the room and went into a closed session to determine whether or not an executive session was warranted.

In a nutshell, the board of aldermen are saying that county supervisors are the county’s 911 commission, and they alone can decide whether or not to terminate 911 services to Poplarville unless Poplarville pays the sheriff’s department $85,000 annually to pay for two dispatchers. Allison has said that budget restrictions forced him to make the demand on Poplarville for additional help.

Aldermen, basing their conclusion on legal research by city attorney Martin T. Smith that draws a distinction between E911 emergency calls over a countywide system and local non-emergency calls to the sheriff’s department, were set to ask supervisors on Wednesday to continue dispatching the Poplarville police department on E911 calls only, generated inside Poplarville city limits.

Allison told aldermen in a Sept. 11 letter that he would discontinue dispatching services to the City of Poplarville police department, including 911 calls, if the city did not pick up the salaries of two dispatchers in the sheriff’s office. The costs of paying for the two dispatchers, including fringe benefits, would cost Poplarville $85,000 annually. He first gave an Oct. 1 deadline, but changed it to Nov. 1 after Poplarville officials told him they did not have time to discuss the issue and take action on it.

Now Poplarville officials are saying that Allison might not have the authority to re-direct 911 calls. That can be done only by the board of supervisors, Poplarville officials maintain, since the board of supervisors constitutes the commission that oversees and has authority over the 911 system.

The revelation of the aldermen’s position came at the Tuesday meeting of the board of aldermen when city attorney Martin T. Smith read a draft memo that would be signed by Mayor Billy Spiers and conveyed to supervisors, presumably on Wednesday. Spiers was scheduled to meet with supervisors on Wednesday, but it was not clear Tuesday night whether his discussions with the board of supervisors would be in an open or a closed session.

Smith said that State Attorney General opinions have said that those using 911 services can’t be charged additional fees for the service since residents are charged $1 per month, and businesses are charged $2 per month, on their phone bills. That fee goes directly to 911 operations.

“Six opinions say the commission does not have the legal authority to assess additional fees than that assessed on phone bills,” said Smith.

Smith said that the E911 service falls under a county commission, which the board of supervisors may appoint, and that the board of supervisors can function itself as the commission. Smith said research shows that the 911 commission in Pearl River County is the board of supervisors.

Smith told aldermen, “As I read the law, it’s the commission (supervisors) who says who gets dispatched and who doesn’t. The Pearl River County E911 Emergency Commission has sole authority and responsibility to oversee the operation of the program.”

Smith said that the sheriff’s department has the authority to charge for dispatching non-emergency calls from his office, but he believed that 911 calls were different.

Mayor Spiers said that in Lamar County, the sheriff’s department dispatches both Purvis and Lumberton police on 911 calls, but local non-emergency calls come in directly to the police departments. “If they can do it, we can, too,” Spiers told the board of aldermen. Spiers said estimates are that it would cost Poplarville $8,000 to $10,000 to set up a system whereby local non-emergency calls can come directly into the Poplarville police department. City officials hope the board of supervisors will order the sheriff’s department to continue to dispatch city units on 911 calls.

Said Spiers, “We know what we are going to do, but they will have to continue to dispatch 911 calls.”

Police Chief Charles Fazende told aldermen that he would know by Friday if there were grants the city could obtain in order to purchase equipment to begin their own non-emergency dispatching.

The issue took on added significance after a quick 911 dispatch last week was credited with saving the life of a six-year-old at Poplarville Lower Elementary. After receiving the 911 dispatch from the sheriff’s department, the Poplarville Fire Dept. needed only two minutes to reach the lower elementary where they resuscitated the child, who had fallen and the impact, for some unknown reason, had caused the child to stop breathing. Poplarville fire chief Mike White and firemen Nicholas Hines answered the call.

Mayor Spiers, at Tuesday’s meeting, awarded Hines a certificate of appreciation from the Heart Association for saving the child’s life.

Fazende told the board, “What happened at the Lower Elementary last week shows that what we are dealing with here on this issue is not a game. Lives are at stake.”