The Lady Lake Commission has unanimously approved a deal to outsource the town’s emergency dispatch service to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
There was virtually no discussion of the issue at Monday evening’s meeting at Lady Lake Town Hall.
“This was already thoroughly discussed at the workshop meeting,” said Commissioner Ruth Kussard.
Last month in a special commission “workshop” meeting which dispatchers claimed had been hastily called, commission members agreed to pursue a dispatch contract with Lake County.
You can read a report from that July 23 workshop meeting at the link below:
http://villages-news.com/lady-lake-police-looks-at-moving-dispatch-to-lake-county-sheriffs-office/
In that meeting, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office indicated that it can save Lady Lake $273,980 over the life of the five-year outsource contract.
Lady Lake has budgeted eight dispatcher positions in the past, but three of those positions have been vacant.
The sheriff’s office indicated it would be willing to hire the Lady Lake dispatchers, but conceded the rate of pay would be entry level and employees would have to contribute to their health insurance costs.
To soften the blow, on Monday it was noted that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to waive the normal 30-day waiting period for health insurance for Lady Lake dispatchers who might be hired by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
In other business:
• Mayor Jim Richards proclaimed Aug. 3 through 10 as National Clown Week in Lady Lake. The proclamation recognizes Clown Alley #179 formed in 1985. The group, which is very active in The Villages and surrounding area, has about 100 members.
• It was noted that Lady Lake employees health insurance plans will go up 11.3 percent in October.
• “Open forum” portions of future meetings will be held at the beginning of Lady Lake Commission meetings. In the past, “open forum” has been held at the end of meetings when official discussion has already taken place. The change will take effect at the Aug. 19 meeting.