[Ord. No. 15-083 §3, 9-8-2015]
A. Establishment. A County Department of Emergency
Communications is hereby established effective January 1, 2016.
B. Powers And Duties.
1.
The Department shall possess and exercise all powers given it
by applicable law.
2.
The Department shall be responsible for providing dispatching
services to County law enforcement.
3.
The Department shall be responsible for providing dispatching
services to fire and ambulance districts, departments and agencies
as established by contract.
4.
The Department shall be responsible for the operation and maintenance
of the county-wide emergency radio communications system.
5.
The Department shall be responsible for management of the 911
system, including its addressing and database management system and
the Director shall adopt as the Department's standard for addressing
a single well established national standard and may change that standard
from time to time when the Director determines that such changes serve
the interest of public safety and emergency response.
6.
The division duties of the department shall be established as
follows:
b.
Fire and ambulance dispatching.
c.
Radio and microwave emergency radio technology and support.
C. Director to be a Department Head.
1.
The department shall be headed by a director who shall be exempted
from the merit system pursuant to the St. Charles County Charter,
Section 7.300 (2014).
2.
Any and all contracts for which responsibility of oversight
and execution of the terms of the contract were previously assigned
to the Director of Dispatch and Alarm are hereby the responsibility
of the Director of Emergency Communications.
[Ord. No. 15-083 §3, 9-8-2015]
A. Within the unincorporated area of the County, the Department shall
be authorized to establish street names and numbers and amend such
names and numbers when there is a street name or address number so
substantially similar as to pose a hazard to efficient emergency service
response.
1.
When the Department proposes to amend an existing street name
or number, the Department shall send a written notice to the address
proposed to be changed and, if the property is not owner-occupied,
to the owner of record set forth in the records of the St. Charles
County Assessor, using a mail format which provides proof of delivery.
2.
The Department shall state in the notice that fifteen (15) days
from the date of delivery the amended address will take place unless
the owner of the premises objects in writing prior to the close of
the fifteen (15) days.
3.
The written notice shall specify that the objection may be by
letter, fax or e-mail and shall provide the appropriate fax number
and e-mail address.
4.
If an objection is received by the Department and the Department
wishes to proceed with the amendment, the Department shall request
the County Counselor prepare an ordinance amending the name or number
and forward it to the Council for placement on the next month's
agenda.
B. Within the unincorporated area of the County, the Department shall
also be authorized to amend street names and numbers at the request
either of abutting private property owners or of other political subdivisions,
subject to the following provisions.
1.
If the Department finds that the proposed new street name or address numbering is not so substantially similar to names and numbers of other streets as to pose a hazard to efficient emergency service response, the Department shall proceed as provided in Subsection
(A)(1) through
(4), above.
2.
Before the Department proceeds, however, the party or parties
requesting a street renaming/renumbering shall deposit funds with
the Department sufficient to cover the following costs:
a.
The estimated cost to be born by the Department to record a
report or ordinance approving the requested change; and
b.
The costs of the County Highway Department as invoiced for fabricating
and installing new signage that may be required by the street renaming/renumbering
requested and that meet the County Highway Department's current
standards for such signage.
If a requested change is denied, the funds deposited shall be
remitted to the party or parties that deposited them. If deposited
funds are greater than needed to cover the costs specified above,
the excess shall be refunded.
C. If the Department renames or renumbers a street pursuant to Subsection
(A) or
(B), above, it shall report such renaming/renumbering to the County Council which shall receive that report among its records. Upon approval the Department shall record the report, using funds deposited pursuant to Subsection
(B) if appropriate.
D. If the County Council renames or renumbers a street by ordinance pursuant to Subsection
(A) or
(B), above, the Department shall record the ordinance approving that street renaming/renumbering, using funds deposited pursuant to Subsection
(B) if appropriate.
E. Upon approval of a street renaming/renumbering, the County Highway Department shall fabricate and install necessary signage, at County's costs for street renaming/renumberings pursuant to Subsection
(A), above, or using funds deposited by requesting parties for street renaming/renumberings pursuant to Subsection
(B) above.
[Ord. No. 15-083 §3, 9-8-2015]
The Department of Emergency Communications shall be authorized
to contract with municipalities within St. Charles County to establish
and amend street names and numbers within a contracting municipality.
Such contract shall be substantially the same as that set forth in
Exhibit A to Ord. No. 08-100 which is on file in the County offices.