Sheriff gets 911 oversight duties

The Kootenai County sheriff now has the ability to hire and fire the director of the county’s 911 center, a position that has been vacant since November.

The change comes as the county prepares to interview candidates for the job, which includes managing about 20 employees in the center where emergency 911 calls are handled.

County commissioners oversaw the 911 center’s director until a recent annual audit by the FBI and state officials concluded that law enforcement must oversee any employees who have access to the two computerized databases used by the county to track criminal records, fugitives, sex offenders and driver’s license records. The databases include private information.

Sheriff Rocky Watson said that as of this month, he has the ultimate responsibility to hire a 911 director and oversee the two computer technicians who keep the National Crime Information Center and Idaho Law Enforcement Telecommunications System databases working. Those computer technicians, who now must undergo background checks, previously had worked under the county’s information systems director.

Operations Manager Amber Henderson has been the acting director of the 911 center since director John Fryling left nearly six months ago to work for a previous employer, Watson said.

“There’s no reason to rush the (hiring) process,” said Watson, who is finishing background checks on applicants for the job, which pays between $50,200 and $70,900, depending on experience.

Initially, local fire officials were concerned about the change in oversight responsibility because nobody had notified them.

“We like to be included in the loop so we know what’s going on,” said Chief Ron Sampert of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue.

The county is drafting an agreement to ensure that the 911 Users Board, which includes fire and law enforcement representatives, will be involved in the interviewing and hiring process for the 911 director, said Gus Johnson, chairman of the Kootenai County commissioners.

Johnson said all users of the 911 center met two weeks ago to work out the problem.