The Lycoming County Commissioners’ approval of an agreement with Priority Dispatch will establish a standard protocol regarding how dispatchers at the 911 call center will take certain calls and then maintain a continuity based on certain crises. The dispatchers will then be able to maintain consistent medical advice prior to emergency services actually getting on scene, Forest Rothchild, the director of Public Safety explained.

“This is actually guided by the International Academy of emergency dispatch. It’s a globally recognized standard for emergency practices and it structures a complaint-driven decision tree and it’s a series of standardized questions to determine the caller’s chief complaints and answers provided during the call,” he said.

Rothschild went on to say that matters because the dispatchers are then able to provide instructed pre-arrival instruction, life-saving guidance provided to the callers in the critical minutes before EMS arrives,” he added.

The cost of the program is a one-year fee of $19,200 and $21,600 for years two through five. The cost will be reimbursed through PEMA (Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency) 911 funds.

In other actions, the commissioners approved: an agreement with Agarian Associates, LLC in the amount of $3,700 for appraisal services for the county’s Ag Preservation Program; accepting the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) Grant Agreement for the Countywide Action Plan in the amount of $50,000; an agreement with Miller’s Fence in the amount of $3,267 to repair fencing on the River Walk with money coming from Act 13 legacy funds; the 2025-2026 PCORP Grant Application in the amount of $30,000; and the agreement with McNerney, Page, Vanderlin & Hall to be paid out of operating expenses.

Commissioners Scott Metzger, Marc Sortman and Mark Mussina along with Controller Nikki Gottschall, acting as the Salary Board approved the following at Resource Management Services: a eliminate clerk III/AR position and anOperations & Support Service Clerk position from the TDA (Table of Distribution and Allowances) and add a part-time weighmaster position to the TDA.

Under personnel, the commissioners okayed hiring replacements for the following positions at the rate of pay listed: Jennifer Gies, full-time correctional officer II at the Prison, a union position at $24.76 per hour; and Patrick Racey, full-time equipment operator at Resource Management at $20.34 per hour.

The next commissioners’ meeting will be at 10 a.m. May 21 at the Commissioners’ Board Room, 3rd floor Third Street Plaza, 33 West Third St.