Hanceville city council approves resolution to designate dispatchers as first responders

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(Sara Gladney for The Cullman Tribune)

HANCEVILLE, Ala. – During the Hanceville council meeting Thursday night, the council approved Resolution no. 657 which reads:

“Resolution recognizing the work of the public safety telecommunicators of the Hanceville Police Department and the sacrifices they make to serve public safety in their role as first responders…the public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in public safety, homeland security and emergency response alongside police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services, and whereas the public safety telecommunicators require specialized training and skills to gather vital information and make split second decisions to form the foundation of an effective emergency response, prevent the worsening of a situation, provide situational awareness to responders, and provide life-saving direction.

And whereas the public safety telecommunicator works in a uniquely stressful environment, communicating with people in great distress, harm, fear or injury… Hanceville City Council recognizes public safety telecommunicators are far more than clerical and supports the national movement to reclassify telecommunicators as first responders and accurately recognize the scope of the work they do…”

“Public safety telecommunicators shall hereby be designated as first responders in all policy and procedural considerations by the City of Hanceville.”

Mayor Kenneth Nail noted, “Lots of times we only have one dispatcher. That one dispatcher will tell you that sometimes you can go from total boredom to sheer terror just like that…If you can work at Hanceville City Dispatch, you can work anywhere.”

Dispatchers in Hanceville are required to have NCIC training, APCO certification, two weeks of jail school as well as taser and spray certification and monthly training.

First on the council’s agenda was a 2019 Audit review presentation by Scotty Segroves.

The balance sheet showed $5,422,000 total assets. The net pension liability is $83,293 down from $268,000. The net pension liability is based on factors like age of employees, inflation, salary increases and return on investments. A mixture of these factors increased the funds available to the point it was able to reduce liability by a significant amount.

The net worth was shown to be $4,464,000.

The fund financial statement, which does not take into account fixed assets or long-term liabilities, shows total assets of $990,000 and a total fund balance of $717,000.

Segroves discussed the auditing process and said his ability to answer financial questions is partly “due to you having good staff who follow procedures you put in place and having security over your assets.”

The council appointed Jim Sawyer to place number seven on the Historical Commission for a three-year term which began on November 1, 2020.

The mayor appointed Edna Swann to replace Kerry Gamble on the Hanceville Housing Authority for a five-year term, and reappointed Shelia White to the Hanceville Housing Authority for a five-year term.

The council has surplus property of two newly remanufactured diesel engines in their crates, purchased a year ago. They also have three pieces of 3/8” steel eight feet wide, 20 feet long, and a military gasoline tanker that was received from Surplus Property and has not been used. These items will be sold on govdeals.com.

The City of Hanceville will also be hiring a new park director. The job posting will be on Indeed.com.

Hanceville City Council meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 5:30 p.m. at Hanceville City Hall. The public is invited to attend.

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