River Valley Communications Board Meeting Summary - December 16, 2025
River Valley Communications Board Meeting Summary - December 16, 2025
The River Valley Communications Center (RBCC) Board convened to approve the 2026 operating budget and the consolidation plan with Sebastian County. The meeting focused on utilizing the fund balance to cover the 2026 operating costs without immediate billing to member entities, paving the way for a full service consolidation in July 2026. Board members debated the long-term cost implications and addressed the funding mechanism for continued emergency medical dispatch services provided by Fort Smith EMS, ultimately approving amendments to the budget to facilitate these operational transitions.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were recorded in the transcript.
Discussion Items
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2026 Budget Approval and Fund Balance Usage: Mayor Kinslow presented the 2026 budget with the intention of using the entire fund balance ($1.6 million beginning balance + projected revenue of $4.17 million vs. $3.5 million expenses) to cover 100% of operating costs. This strategy aims to avoid immediate charges to Sebastian County and Fort Smith while preparing for consolidation.
- Positions: Council Member Cooper expressed strong opposition to the projected cost increase, stating a 245% increase to each community is "never going to get lower" without community input. He argued for immediate budget reduction. Mayor Kinslow and Board members Runyan and Baker supported the motion, viewing the use of the fund balance as a necessary strategic step to secure state extensions and achieve consolidation without immediate financial burden on the cities for 2026.
- Financial Clarification: The discussion clarified that a transfer of $3.4 million from Sebastian County was included in the revenue calculation for 2026, which Board Member Cooper argued was counting the same money twice. The Board confirmed the remaining projected fund balance at the end of 2026 is approximately $2,347,209.
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EMS Contract and Budget Amendment: The Board discussed the legality of using 911 funds to reimburse Fort Smith EMS for Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), noting historical payments were likely non-compliant with state law as personnel costs. CJ Ingle from the Arkansas 911 Board advised that funding this as a "contract for services" (operational expense) would be a safer legal avenue than personnel reimbursement.
- Action: Council Member Dingman moved to amend the 2026 budget to include an operational contract expense with Fort Smith EMS for approximately $123,000 to cover EMD services. To offset this cost without increasing the total bottom line, the Board agreed to eliminate the PRO-QA software expense, saving $381,000.
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2026 Consolidation Plan: Mayor Kinslow presented a high-level plan to consolidate dispatch operations, aiming to move Sebastian County dispatchers to the Fort Smith Police Department on July 1, 2026. The plan involves an audit of radio needs (Motorola), CAD system unification (Pro-Phoenix), and network integration.
- Operational Details: The discussion confirmed that while dispatching will physically move to the police department, the functional separation of Fort Smith and Sebastian County dispatching remains until the new system is fully integrated. The Board clarified the current staffing count of 24 positions (16 at Fort Smith, 12 at Sebastian County, including supervisor roles) and the elimination of 8 vacant positions via the budget. The Board agreed to finalize retention plans and employee transfers (city vs. county) in January/February 2026.
Key Outcomes
- Motion Carried (7-0): The 2026 Budget was approved as amended to include a contract for services with Fort Smith EMS for $123,000, offset by $381,000 in eliminated expenses, with the full operating costs covered by the existing fund balance for 2026.
- Motion Carried (7-0): The Consolidation Plan for July 1, 2026, was approved. This plan moves Sebastian County dispatch operations to the Fort Smith Police Department while maintaining existing dispatch schedules and separation of jurisdictions temporarily until system integration is complete.
- Future Directives: The Board directed the Mayor to finalize the inter-local agreement or contract for services regarding EMS and employee retention status by January/February 2026. A request for a state funding extension is scheduled for the following Thursday.
Meeting Transcript
If it's we need to do that. Okay, we're going to go ahead and call a meeting to order meet kind. A couple. Mark Allen will be here momentarily from the judge. And then if Mayor Kinsbow gets here, then we'll go ahead and deal with it. So let's go ahead and take roles. Baker? Here. Clark? Here. Hoover. Dingman? Here. Hearn. Here. Judge Hopes is not going to be here. Mark Allen will be here a moment care. Mayor Kinslow of Doug Kinslow is not here. Runyan? Here. Seismic. All right. Joining us online also is CJ Ingle with the Arkansas 911 board. Here comes Mayor Genslow. My apologies. So I presented you with the updated 2026 budget for the River Valley Communications Center. As I stated in my memo, this is the operating expenses includes 100% of all RBCC expenses, including personnel and operation cost for 2026. Having said that, I'm presenting this to you with the understanding that I will be using all of the fund balance in 2026 to cover all 100% of operating costs in 2026. Okay. So where we the fund analysis that I sent in the summary shows what the uh amount will be, and then I did break it down per city at the request of the board members. And I did that specifically to show what an idea of what that breakdown will be. But I want to reiterate that should this be approved, the plan is to use all fund balance in 2026. Therefore, no cost would be to any entity. So with that, um I will um do we have a I just need a motion to approve the 2026 budget. Anyone talk about we need to get the motion on the floor and then we're going to have a discussion. So Jeff Dingman, you state? Okay, so Jeff Dingman moved to approve the budget. So discussion. Oh, I just wanted what does that leave the uh fund balance at with this budget as the post? That will leave the end of 2026 a projected fund balance of 2,347,209. So this is a hundred percent uh policy that adding to the retirement. That's correct. Everything every check. That's gonna start in January. Yes. We're not consolidating this. That's we're we're we're going towards consolidation. This the we're since we're going to consolidate mid-year, I budgeted for the entire year. That could change. Uh it won't be any more than that as far as consolidation goes.
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