Mediation between the City of Racine and the county Tuesday ended with an agreement to let a judge decide who’s right in the on-going dispute over joint dispatch payments and staffing.
Racine County Corporation Counsel Jon Lehman told The Journal Times that both sides also agreed to amend the staffing stipulations in the contract.
The city withheld two payments of $350,000 each because staffing levels dipped below the 51 positions outlined in the contract. Changes would include slight fluctuations in that number, which county officials say is usually the result of new employees undergoing extensive training to fill vacant positions, the story continues.
The Villages of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant also participate in joint dispatch and leaders there are keeping a close eye on how the situation works out.
City of Racine Mayor John Dickert wants taxpayers across the county reimbursed for what he says are overpayments to the county joint dispatch center. He says communities agreed to 51 full time staffers, but that level has never been achieved. As a result, he says city residents – and citizens of every other municipality who participates in joint dispatch – have overpaid and should get their money back.
When a judge will issue a decision has not yet been determined.