PLYMOUTH -- The Indiana Department of Homeland Security is allegedly investigating a complaint by the Plymouth police chief that his department is being unfairly targeted by the county's EMA director.
Clyde Avery, Marshall County Emergency Management Agency director, told the Marshall County Board of Commissioners on Monday that Plymouth Police Chief Jim Cox had filed a complaint against him with Eric Dietz, executive director of the state Department of Homeland Security.
Avery said he was notified Feb. 9 of the complaint and, since then, has turned over all correspondence concerning the complaint to District 2 representative Deb Fulk.
Cox said later Monday that he had not filed a formal complaint, but that he had spoken with Dietz during a recent convention in Indianapolis of Indiana police chiefs. Dietz, Cox said, had been a featured speaker and had mentioned the availability of grant money.
Cox said in a phone interview that he approached Dietz at the convention and said the Police Department had been audited by Avery, who found that some of the mobile data terminals recently acquired by EMA through a state grant had not yet been installed in city police cars.
The mobile data terminals were to be installed so that officers could better communicate with each other, specifically through the not-yet-completed 800 MHz system.
Attempts to contact Dietz, and a phone message left for comment, were unsuccessful Monday afternoon.
Avery said he had been asked to perform the audit by Marshall County Commissioner Tom Chamberlin.
Cox said Monday afternoon that he told Dietz the county was now threatening to take the mobile data terminals back, claiming their nonusage could threaten future grant awards from the state.
Dietz, according to Cox, asked for Cox's business card and told the chief he would "set me up with a mediator." Cox said Monday he has not heard "another word" from Dietz or any other Department of Homeland Security representative.
"I felt Plymouth was being dealt a dirty hand, and I still feel that way," Cox said of the audit his department received. "... Before I turn them (the mobile data terminals) back, we need to see how it's going to affect the entire county."
"They ought to look at another issue, too," Cox continued. "The grant built the county's whole 800 (MHz) system. Are we going to throw that all away, too?"
During the commissioners' meeting, in which the information was initially revealed, Cox disclosed a timeline that showed his implementation of infrastructure to support the 800 MHz system, as well as a purchase order issued for the equipment to Emergency Radio Service in Elkhart. Emergency Radio Service, Cox said, still didn't have one or more parts needed to complete the job.
Cox asked if the commissioners knew that the Indiana State Police had "done away" with using 800 MHz in their mobile data terminals. He added that Sheriff Jon VanVactor also was considering the same move.
VanVactor confirmed the state police are not using the 800 MHz system and said the county's program is not yet in place either.
"And if they do that, where does that leave our agency?" Cox asked.
Chamberlin did not respond to the question, but said, "When I asked for a status on the 800 ... you gave us no response on what you had planned. ... If you had elaborated ... that probably would have been the end of that. That's why I asked again the second time."
Kevin Overmyer, Board of Commissioners president, added, "I don't think at this moment we are in a position to be judge and jury." He said he wanted to meet with Avery, Cox, Chamberlin, VanVactor and Commissioner Jack Roose concerning the matter.
"This project got off on the wrong foot to begin with," VanVactor said. "There were not clear goals with any of these grants."
Cox told commissioners he thought he was getting the mobile data terminals as part of a previous grant that paid for new radios. He did not understand, he said, it was tied to the 800 MHz program.
VanVactor said a "kind of shotgun approach" had been used in obtaining grants in the past, buying radios here and mobile data terminals there, but with no overall thought to "the big picture" of communication.
"We kind of got the cart before the horse," VanVactor said.
"We need to form a grants application committee to review this kind of thing so we don't go through this again," Avery suggested.
Overmyer again said nothing would be resolved at that meeting and moved that a meeting be set including Roose, Avery, VanVactor, Chamberlin and Cox to try to smooth things over, as well as to decide what to do about the mobile data terminals. No time, date or location were discussed, although commissioners approved the idea.
