Applause broke out after the Cowlitz County commissioners Tuesday voted 2-1 to create an independent 911 agency, separating emergency dispatch services from county control.
Commissioners Joe Gardner and Dennis Weber voted yes, while Arne Mortensen was the lone dissenting vote.
Gardner said the new Cowlitz 911 agency will reduce bureaucracy by consolidating governance of emergency dispatch under a single, nine-person board of directors. At least three governing bodies ran it before, leading to a leadership gap, confused lines of authority and other troubles.
“What came to mind was the old adage, too many cooks in the kitchen,” Gardner said. “What I’ve witnessed, a lot of the concerns and angst … that have boiled to the surface are symptoms of this multi-layered Big Mac … of governance.”
Gardner had worked closely in organizing the new 911 agency as a member of the 911 E-Board, one of the three governing bodies that have run the agency up to now.