The city councils of Colusa and Williams have approved new four-year contracts with the County of Colusa to continue to receive police dispatch services.
The cities have agreed to pay the county $123,681.60 per calendar year (as of Jan. 1) for 24-hour per day dispatch services, with a 5% increase scheduled per year through 2026.
Payments will be made in four equal installments, officials said.
The Colusa City Council approved their agreement Feb. 7. The Williams City Council approved their agreement Feb. 15, the same time each approved their contracts for the county to perform animal control services.
The cities first entered agreements with the County of Colusa for dispatch services in 2009, at a cost of about $35,000 per year, and fee increases have been in line with the increase in operational costs, officials said.
“The Sheriff’s Office does regional dispatching for the Colusa Police Department and fees are going up, as with everything else,” said Colusa Chief of Police Josh Fitch.
The increase in 2023, however, coincides with the expiration of a 50 percent dispatch fee reduction that was negotiated in lieu of the cities paying impact fees on the new jail project.
In 2023, the cities paid $64,785.60 for dispatch services with the rest going to the city’s portion of the project.
“We are just now getting back to where we should be,” Fitch said.
In July 2026, Colusa County and the two cities will renegotiate new rates for services to be effective Jan. 1, 2027, at which time dispatch services will cost about $143,000.
Fitch said having the Sheriff’s Office provide regional dispatch services is a huge value for Colusa, as the city could not fund its own 24-hour dispatch center, nor provide the level and quality of service the Sheriff’s Office provides.
“I don’t even have a facility to put it in,” Fitch said.
The Colusa County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center operates around the clock, seven days per week, and routes both emergency (9-1-1) and non-emergency calls from the public for police services to the appropriate agency or service authority, officials said. ■