Kingfisher County commissioners signed copies of the county’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget, totaling $37,657,601.54 Monday at their weekly meeting.

Last year’s county budget totaled $28,592,876.52.

John Storm of Storm and Hauser, CPA’s, attended the meeting, bringing the budget documents.

The detailed budget was being forwarded to be published in the Times and Free Press as a legal document, County Clerk Jeannie Boevers reported.

A more detailed comparison of the budgets will appear in the Sunday edition.

Under the new business portion of the meeting, Kingfisher County 911 Director Ryan Deatherage advised commissioners he had been requested by Kingfisher City Manager Jim Thomas to attend Monday night’s meeting of the Kingfisher City Commission.

The purpose, Deatherage said, was to discuss the 911 emergency calling service, which provides dispatch service to emergency responders and receives funding from multiple county municipalities, including Kingfisher.

The city contributed $7,934.75 monthly (95,217.06 annually) last fiscal year to participate in the service.

( Ed. note: The city commission voted unanimously Monday night to renew its agreement to provide $7,934.75 monthly for the service.)

A year ago, county officials met with the city commission to discuss an annual shortfall in the operation.

Funding for the service comes from several sources, some of which have been negatively affected since the service was mandated.

The county contributes funds to the service from its 9 percent of a county sales tax approved in 2019.

When the services were mandated (a federal action in 1999), fees were connected to land lines and cellular lines set aside for them.

Since the service began, land line usage has fallen while cellular phone usage has increased, diminishing income to 911. Cellular fees are tied to the users’ billing addresses rather than where cellular calls are made, according to a report made to the city commission a year ago.

The nation’s 911 service is considered a vital part of the nation’s emergency response and disaster preparedness system, according to the Federal Communications System.

Hennessey contributes $41,170.40 and Okarche $21,648.10 to the annual 911 operation. The county contributed $141,740.30 to the service last year.

The totals are based on population.

County commissioners took these agenda item actions during the meeting:

• Approved monthly reports for the county election board and court clerk;

• Approved a pipeline county road crossing for Howard Drilling Enterprises in District 2, located five miles south and two miles west of Hennessey;

• Approved a pipeline crossing for Ovintiv located three miles east and two miles north of Okarche in District 1;

• Authorized a notice to bidders for labor and materials needed to build a new shop addition and remodel at the District 1 shop. Bids will be accepted at the county clerk’s office in the courthouse until 4 p.m. Sept. 6 and opened at the commission’s regular meeting on Sept. 9. A prebid meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Monday Aug. 19, at the project site, 16470 E. 750 Road.

• Approved a declaration of surplus for a double desk and examination table for the county health department; • Approved county appropriations for the month of July, and,

• Approved registration for a purchase card for the county from the Oklahoma Management Enterprise Services.

All commissioners were present for the meeting – Jeff Moss, District 1, chairman; Ray Alan Shimanek, District 2, vice-chairman, and Anthony Schwarz, District 3 – along with Deatherage, County Clerk Jeannie Boevers, minute clerk, John Storm of the Storm and Hauser accounting firm and Kevin Lane of Stillwater.