The City of Kingfisher has agreed to cover a large chunk in the funding gap to operate the Kingfisher County 911 service.

City commissioners on Wednesday approved an interlocal agreement with the county for 911 call answering and emergency dispatching services.

The agreement, in which the city will pay the county $95,217.06 annually for those services, was approved during a special meeting and comes after about six months of communications between the two entities.

The county’s 911 operation has been facing an annual shortfall in funding.

Its funding comes from multiple sources, some of which have been greatly affected over the past several years.

When the services were mandated, there were fees associated with land lines and cellular lines set aside for them.

Landline use has greatly diminished since then and cellular fees are tied to the user’s billing address, not where cellular calls are made.

The county 911 system receives 9 percent of a county sales tax that was passed in 2019. Although that aided the shortfall, the gap is still about $300,000, according to Director Ryan Deatherage.

Deatherage and Heath Dobrovolny, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, addressed city commissioners during their Feb. 13 meeting.

The BOCC took over as the 911 board about two years ago and hired Deatherage, a former city commissioner, late last year.

The two had presented a proposal to the city - as well as town boards in Okarche and Hennessey - requesting an annual fee for the services to help cover that shortfall.

The county pledged to cover $141,740.30.

It asked $41,394 from Hennessey and $21,648.10 from Okarche as well as the amount from Kingfisher.

The totals were based on populations.

Both Hennessey and Okarche approved those requests by March.

Kingfisher commissioners and leaders balked at a lack of city oversight, but Dobrovolny said the BOCC wasn’t looking to add any oversight from the communities.

He pointed out that prior to the BOCC taking over the service, county municipalities were asked to provide funding and the makeup of the board refl ected those communities. “I attended some of those meetings,” Dobrovolny said. “It was clear to me that some changes needed to be made.”

That board eventually dissolved and Dobrovolny said the way the board has operated the last two years has been much more productive than a “community board.”

The agreement approved Wednesday runs from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.

The city will pay the county $7,934.75 monthly.

The county service will be the initial contact point for anyone from Kingfish- er dialing 911 in need of emergency law enforcement, medical or fire protection services.

On top of receiving the calls, the county will dispatch those calls to the appropriate department as well as several other services.

“911 service is a critical part of public safety,” Dobrovolny told the KT&FP on Thursday. “The county is committed to both increased fiscal allocations and workforce development to providing the best service possible.

“The county appreciates Hennessey, Kingfisher and Okarche’s willingness to be partners in that overall success.”