(KLZA)-- Following a nearly 90-minute executive session of the Richardson County Commissioners Tuesday, that included County Attorney Doug Merz, Sheriff Rick Hardesty, Deputy County Sheriff Roland Merwin and Falls City Police Chief Jamie Baker, Commissioners requested County Attorney Merz to contact the Beatrice City Attorney, regarding a request by Richardson County to amend the Emergency Dispatch Services Interlocal Agreement between the City of Beatrice and Richardson County.

 In a letter sent to Southeast Communications 911 Center in January, Richardson County asked Beatrice Police Chief Bruce Lang, to identify steps necessary to terminate the contract Richardson County signed in the summer of 2021 with Southeast Communications 911 Center in Beatrice for dispatch services or at the very least, renegotiated.

The letter mentioned there “seems to be issues between the Falls City Police Department and Southeast Communications” which were complicating emergency dispatches for the Richardson County Sheriff's Office.

Chief Lang responded in a January 28 letter the agreement could be terminated for $360 thousand minus the amount Richardson County had paid already amounting to $90 thousand, leaving a buyout amount of $270 thousand.

The letter noted that the Southeast 911 Center had received no cooperation from the Falls City Police Department or Sheriff Rick Hardesty in setting a meeting to redirect cell phone towers to insure 911 calls are going to the Southeast 911 Center in Beatrice.

In addition, on January 28, Chief Lang sent a letter to Falls City Police Chief Jamie Baker noting he wanted to dispel some of the information being published and talked about concerning 911 Communications in Richardson County and the Falls City Police Department.

Lang noted that since August of 2021, Southeast 911 Center has worked with communications center personnel from the Falls City Police Department as various calls have overlapped into both Centers.. Lang said the working relationship between the two Public Service Answering Points have been good, with both just trying to get the job done.

Lang said in the letter that he is comfortable with the working relationship between the Southeast Nebraska 911 Center and the Falls City Police Department.