The city of Durango and La Plata County have settled a yearlong dispute over 911 services and related funding.
The two governments signed two agreements last month outlining the terms for shared use and ownership of the Durango Emergency Communications Center.
It's a move that appears to mark progress in repairing a strained relationship between the two governments that deteriorated last year amid disputes over both the Durango Emergency Communications Center – the base of operations for 911 services across much of the county – and the city’s use of the county jail.
The two agreements – a Client Services Agreement and a Tenants in Common agreement – memorialize the relationship between the city as service provider and the county as a user agency with ownership and governance rights. They establish service levels, performance guidelines, budget procedures and a process for making major changes – such as switching to new, more expensive dispatch software – so both sides have a voice before big costs are incurred.
“I think we’re at a good place. There’s always room for improvement, of course, but I think we’re in a much better place than we were before,” Commissioner Matt Salka said of intergovernmental relations. “And this 911 communications agreement is just another step forward in making that relationship stronger.”
Early last year, the city announced it would be charging the county 25% more than it had been for the services of the Durango Emergency Communications Center – a response to what the city considered the county’s failure to negotiate a contract allowing the city to use the county jail in a timely manner.
Last fall, county Sheriff Sean Smith told the city he would not hold inmates charged only with low-level offenses under municipal code, citing capacity and liability concerns.
The two governments tried and failed to develop a new usage agreement for the jail. In turn, the city told the county it would raise 911 dispatch fees to compensate for the increased costs associated with the dissolution of the jail contract.
County officials took issue with the price increase – and withheld payment to the sum of roughly $280,000.
The disagreement was partly rooted in the unusual ownership structure of the dispatch center. The facility is jointly owned by the city and the county but is operated by the city as a municipal department, with multiple local agencies paying for services based on their share of call volume.
However, formal tenant and lease agreements had never been signed – adding to the complexity.
The county had argued that it deserved more agency over decisions to raise costs since it had ownership.
The new agreements establish the county as an equal player on key decisions regarding the center, which was previously left almost entirely up to the city. It puts the two governments on “equal footing,” Salka said.
“'I’m excited that we’re able to get through something that created rough discussions in the past,” he said.
City Manager José Madrigal said he likewise feels good about the new agreements.
He said the Client Services Agreement stipulates if the emergency communications center’s budget raises by more than 10% in a year, more than 60% of funding members – including the city and the county – must vote in approval of the increase.
Funding members include the city, the county, the town of Bayfield, Durango Fire Protection District, La Plata County Search and Rescue, and other fire districts across the county.
The Tenants in Common agreement codifies the city’s and county’s responsibilities for their respective building spaces at the emergency communications center, he said. It also outlines a procedure should one entity decide to sell its share of the building.
He said the city of Durango waived administrative fees charged to La Plata County on Tuesday given the county paid the funds it previously withheld for 2025 in full.
Now, with some return to successful cooperation, the two governments are looking at reinstating their quarterly meetings, Salka said.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
cburney@durangoherald.com
