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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution - 1141 - Approving Department of Public Safety's Joint and Cooperative Agreement with Hennepin County "Hennepin Emergency Communication Organization" and Authorizing the Director and Alternate Director - 05/25/1976 CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA Resolution No. 1141 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY'S JOINT AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH HENNEPIN COUNTY "HENNEPIN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION ORGANIZATION" AND AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR AND ALTERNATE DIRECTOR. WHEREAS Hennepin County has designated the Hennepin County Sheriff to act as the designated director of the Hennepin Emergency Communication Organization. BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Eden Prairie, Minnesota that the Joint and Cooperative Agreement "Hennepin Emergency . Communication Organization" be executed and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director and Alternate Director be Jack Hacking, Director of Public Safety and Keith Wall, Lieutenant in accordance with Article IV, Section 3 of the HECO agreement. ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Eden Prairie on this 25th day of May, 1976 and amended on October' 26, 1976. -061f)g&g Penzel, Mayor ATTEST: SEAL / AL VIn D. Fr1rde, Clerk • CITY OF DEN PRAIRIE HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION NO. 1141 r JOINT AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT "HENNEPIN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION ORGANIZATION" The parties to this agreement are governmerital units of the State of Minnesota. This agreement •is made and entered into pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 9471. 59 . WITNESSETi: WHEREAS, the concept of a nationVride emergency telephone number was first realized in Great Britain more than thirty years ago with that country' s establishment of "999" on a national scale; and WHEREAS, the President' s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice has recommended that a "single number should be established for reporting emergencies" ; and WHEREAS, Nine-One-One (911) is the three-digit telephone number that has been designated for public use throughout the United •States for reporting an emergency and requesting emer- gency assistance; and WHEREAS, the effective utilization of the public safety radio frequency resource in Hennepin County requires a plan for the reallocation and greater sharing of the frequency channels available and prompt implementation :.hereof; and. HECO AGREEMENT -3 NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS AGREED by and among the County of Hennepin, the Hennepin County Sheriff, and the communities who are signatory to this agreement, in consideration of their mutual covenants and agreements as hereinafter set forth, to hereby commit themselves to joint participation in the development of a county-wide integrated emergency com- munications network that provides the maximum possible local command, control and ownership consistent with existing leg- islation; and IT IS FURTHER AGREED by the parties that:...this agreement is intended to be in conformance with Minnesota Statutes Section 3113. 041 and in the event that any court of competent jurisdiction shall rule contrary to this intent, then the • entire agreement shall become null and void. I .- GENERAL PURPOSE The general purpose of this agreement is to provide for an organization through which the parties may jointly and cooperatively participate in the development, implementation, operation and maintenance of an integrated county-wide public safety communications system. II . DEFINITION OF TERMS For the purposes of this agreement, the terms defined in this article shall have the meanings given then: j HECO AGPEEMENT -5 `-1 plus the assessed valuation of his municipality or the municipalities he represents divided by $10,000, 000 with the total resulting sum rounded to the nearest whole number. B) The sheriff or his representative and the Hennepin County representative shall each be eligible to cast the number of votes equivalent to 12 1/2 per cent of the total municipal votes computed for all member municipalities in accordance with subparagraph A) above. Section 7. "Population" means the most recent estimated population as determined and published by the Metropolitan Council. Section 8. "Assessed valuation" means the most recent assessed valuation of any municipal member as derived from the estimated market value and certified by the State Board of Equalization, but prior to the computation of fiscal disparities and tax increment financing adjustments. ' III. MEMBERSHIP Section 1. Any governmental unit or combination of govern- mental. units which has authority to render police, fire or medical public safety services and which employs not less than the minimum Zull-time sworn law enforcement personnel to satisfy LEAA Standard 5 .2 (ten full-time personnel) is eligible to be a member of HECO. If membership is derived from a joint powers agreement combination of municipal units, that unit shall t,J f. • f HECO AGREEMENT -7 Osafety management responsibilities. - Directors and alternates ' shall serve without compensation from HECO but this shall not prevent a member from providing compensation for its director or alternate director if such compensation is authorized by such unit and by law.' Section 4. There shall be no voting by proxy; all votes must be cast in person at board meetings by the director or his alternate. Section 5. Directors and alternate directors shall be appointed to serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. Section 6. When the council of a member appoints a director or an alternate director, it shall give notice of ���• such appointirient to HECO in writing. Such notice shall include the mailing address of the persons so appointed. The names and addresses shown on such notices may be used as the official names and addresses for the purposes of giving any notices required by this -agreement or by the bylaws of HECO. Section 7. Any director or alternate director shall be subject- to removal by the council of the member appointing him, at any time, with .or without cause. Section 8. A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum of the board. Section 9 . A vacancy on the board shall be- filled by the council of the member whose position on the board is vacant. HECO AGREEMENT -9 �} Section 2. The sheriff of Hennepin County shall be the president of the board and shall take office at the first meeting of the board. Section 3. The initial vice president of the board shall be a director elected from among and by the directors repre- senting any of the following municipalities which are members: Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Crystai,' Edina, Golden Talley, Hopkins ,- New Hope, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park. The vice president shall- be elected in accordance with this section at the first meeting of the board. Thereafter, in July of each even-numbered year, after 1976 , the vice president shall be elected from among and by the board of directors . He shall hold office until his successor is elected and qualifies . Section 4. A director shall be elected as a secretary- treasurer from among and by the directors representing any member. He shall be elected at the first meeting of the board and a new election shall be held in July of each even-numbered year after 1976. The secretary-treasurer so elected shall serve until his successor is elected and qualifies . Section 5 . At the organizational meeting, or as soon thereafter as it may reasonably be done, the board shall adopt bylaws governing its procedures , including the time, place and frequency of its regular meetings . Such bylaws may be amended from time to time, but as a minimum, they shall •provide for an annual public meeting of the board to be held each year in July and, in addition, for regular public meetings of r" HECO AGREEMENT -11 `-� notwithstanding anything in this agreement to the contrary, ' it is agreed that as of July 1, 1978, a director who represents a municipality which as of that date has not assigned or other- wise transferred to HECO. (or to such agency as may be designated by HECO) public safety radio frequencies- that it may be licensed to operate or otherwise be entitled to, shall not be eligible for election to any office in the organization or to serve on the executive committee until such frequencies are assigned or otherwise transferred -to HECO or such agency as may be designated by HECO. If such municipality has entered into contractual arrangements with one or more municipalities in Hennepin County, to jointly share the use of one or -more frequencies with a resulting frequency loading approximately equal to the average within Hennepin County, the directors representing such municipalities shall be eligible for full rights to participate as directors. Section 10 . A director who is not eligible for election as provided above, shall not, after July 1, 1978, be entitled to vote on the establishment of the annual budget of HECO or on any. .matter •pertaining to the operation or maintenance of such joint operations, facilities or programs that HECO may have instituted which do not directly serve the residents of the municipality represented by such director. _ Such director i shall not be entitled to vote on the employment -or dismissal of HECO -employees : HECO AGREEMENT -13 public safety frequencies currently licensed to the member units with such assignment to be to a system pool to be used in accordance with plans for an integrated public safety com- munications system developed by the board. (c) Enter into contracts between HECO and such other governmental agencies as appropriate to accomplish the general purposes of the organization. ` 1 (d) Operation of a centralized communications facility i consistent with plans and procedures developed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, and the employment of any necessary personnel deemed appropriate to accomplish Ii the general purposes of the organization, including the plan- ning of systems. The purposes of this section may be accom- plished either by direct employment of personnel necessary to i manage and operate the system or through contracts, leases or other agreements with other operating agencies within the dis- cretion of the board. (e) Acquisition through purchase or lease of space and equipment necessary to accomplish the general purposes of the organization as set forth in subsections (a) through (d) above. Section Z . The board shall have full control of the -man- agement and affairs of HECO including the power to make contracts it deems necessary to make effective any power .to be exercised jby HECO pursuant to this agreement; to provide for the prosecut!w . and defense or other participation in actioILs or proceedings at HECO AGREEMENT -15 Section 6. It shall establish the annual budget for the organization as provided in this agreement. Section 7. It may delegate authority to the executive committee of the board, between board meetings. Such delegation of authority shall be by resolution of the board and may be conditioned in such manner as the board may determine. Section 8. It may accumulate and maintain reasonable working capital reserves and may invest and reinvest funds not currently needed for the purposes of the organization. Such investment and reinvestment shall be in accordance with and subject to the laws applicable to the investment of statutory city funds. Section 9 . It shall make the services of any public safety communications system developed through the activities of the organization available to its members, subject to reasonable charges for development and operation thereof. Section. 10 . It may pay the reasonable and necessary expenses of officers, directors and alternates incurred in connection with their duties as such, but this shall not include the expenses of attending meetings of HECO within the seven- county Twin City metropolitan area. Section 11. Within the limitations of applicable retire- ment laws and M.S. 9471.59 , it may provide for any of its employees to be members of the Public Employees Retirement ( HECO AGREEMENT -17 Section 2. A vacancy shall immediately occur in the office of any officer upon his resignation, death or upon his ceasing to be an employee of his member governmental unit. Upon a vacancy occurring in any office, the executive committee shall fill such position from among directors eligible for the vacant position until the next meeting of the board. Section 3. The three officers shall all be members of the executive committee. Section 4. The president shall preside at all meetings of the board and the executive committee. The vice president shall act as president in the absence of the president. I Section 5 . The secretary-treasurer shall be responsible for keeping a record of all of the proceedings of the board and ..:�• executive committee, for custody of all funds, for the keeping of all financial records of the organization and for such other matters as shall be delegated to him by the board. Any persons may be engaged to perform such services under his supervision and direction, when authorized by the board. He shall post a fidelity bond or other insurance against loss of organization funds in an amount approved by the board, at the expense of the organization. VISI. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Section 1. The board shall have an executive committee consisting of its three officers and two other directors, HECO AGREEMENT -19 • person or persons calling the meeting. Such notice, however, may be waived by any or all members who actually attend the i meeting or who give written waiver of such notice for a specified meeting. Section 6 . The executive committee shall have the following duties: (a) It shall exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated to it by the -board of directors, subject to such conditions and limitations as may be imposed by the board. (b) It shall cause to be prepared a proposed annual budget each year which shall be submitted to the board of directors at least -thirty (30) days before the annual meeting. (c) It shall present a full report of its activities at each regular meeting of the board. Section 7. Subject to the provisions of the approved budget it shall have the authority to appoint, fix the conditions of employment of, and remove any employees of the organization. Section 8. It shall have authority to fix charges for the use of the programs and facilities of HECO, both as to members and non-members consistent with policies and guidelines established by the board. Section 9 . All actions taken by the executive wmmittE - shall be subject to control by the board of -directors as the board shall deem advisable. r". • HECO AGREEMENT -21 after billings such defaulting member shall be deemed to have I given, on such 4Sth day, notice of fiscal protest which shall then be resolved pursuant to the provisions of Section b of this Article. Any member may make a payment in order to pre- serve its status as a member but may make such payment subject to fiscal protest as set forth in Section 5 and- such payment shall not prejudice its right to dispute the amount of the charge and to pursue remedies set forth in this agreement or other legal remedies available- to the member. I Section 5. Costs incurred by HECO for its general ad ' ministrative, development and operating expenses shall be shared and paid by the members in accordance with the criteria I - set -forth in the bylaws of the board. For the first year and as long thereafter as may be provided by the board costs shall be allocated as follows : (a) All costs not included in a county levy or in special charges to cover costs for special equipment, facilities and operating procedures requested by an individual member shall i be charged to the members in accordance with the following I formula: 1 (1) For services rendered to the sheriff and Hennepin County EMS, cost shall be paid by the county in pro- portion based on the number of public safety mobile radio equipped units serving sheriff and EMS functions compared to uc total number of public safety mobile radio equipped units serving i I HECO AGREEMENT -23 ' Section 6. Within thirty (30) -.days after receiving notice of charges established pursuant to Section 3 or at any time before September 1, whichever is later, any member may file a notice of fiscal protest with* the president. Such notice shall constitute a request for review of the charges applicable to the protesting member. The executive committee shall attempt to negotiate the dispute and, with approval of the board, shall have authority to settle the matter upon any basis deemed equit- able by the parties. In. the event that the dispute is not recon- ciled to the satisfaction of the protesting party on or before January 1 of the appropriate year, the party may request arbi- tration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and .a finding of an arbitration panel or an arbi- trator pursuant thereto shall be binding and judgment upon any li award thereunder may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. The period of negotiation prior to invoking arbitration may be I extended by agreement between the executive committee and the disputing member. Section 7. Nothing contained in this Article shall preveDL the board from charging nonmembers for services rendered by HECO, on such basis as the board shall deem appropriate. Section 8 . The board may agree to credit any- member against future or current charges for the .value of equipment or staff contributions made by the member to HECO functions . In no case shall credit be given for contributions of equipment or staff for which the. member received federal or state grant HECO AGREEMENT -25 • governmental units may affiliate with HECO as "associates" . Section 2. A governmental unit desiring to become an associate may do so in the same manner as is required to become a member, except as otherwise provided in this Article. Section 3. At the time of applying for "associate status" the governmental unit making the request shall indicate . in writing that it is .not joining as a member but rather as an associate. Section 4. An associate may appoint a director and an alternate director to the board but such director (or alternate) shall be without voting power and he shall not be eligible to serve as an officer nor shall he be counted for quorum purposes. Section 5. The executive committee with the approval of the board shall establish the charges to be paid by associates and for that purpose it may classify associates in accordance with their varying circumstances. Section 6. An associate may discontinue its relation- ship with HECO at any time by giving written notice of withdrawal to the secretary-treasurer of HECO. Withdrawal shall not relieve such a's'sociate from its obligation to pay any charges which the associate has incurred up to the time of withdrawal. XI . WITHDRAWAL Section 1. Any member may at any time give. written noticc of intent to withdraw from HECO. The refusal or failure of HECO AGREEMENT -27 • member is sufficient or that contractual arrangements have been made with other appropriate governmenf-al agencies to create a frequency loading sufficient to warrant withdrawal of the frequency from the pool and creation of an independent public safety communications system utilizing that frequency and thereby reducing the remaining frequency demand to be served through the HECO organization sufficiently to result in approx- imately equal loading of frequencies before and after such withdrawal. Any dispute arising from a request to withdraw a frequency pursuant to this Article shall be negotiated and subject to binding arbitration in the same manner as set forth for disputes relating to financial responsibility in Article IX. Section 4. The withdrawal of any member which is effective 10 at a time when such withdrawal does not result in dissolution of the organization shall result in forfeiture of the with- drawing member' s claim to any assets of the organization except as may be authorized by action of the executive committee and approved by the board of directors. XII. DISSOLUTION Section 1. The HECO organization shall be dissolved whenever the following occurs : (a) A sufficient number of members withdraw to reduce the population included within the boundaries of the re- maining municipal members to less than one third (1/3) of the � ! total population of Hennepin County. HBCO AGREEMENT -2 9 (b) Assets which are contributed by or paid for by more than one member shall be distributed to existing members in proportion to their contribution to the cost of those assets. (c) Any member wha receives assets which have a greater value than that member' s contribution to the cost thereof shall reimburse in . cash those members who receive assets which have a lesser value than those members ' contribution thereto. Section 4. If there is an organizational deficit upon dissolution, such deficit shall be charged to and paid by the members and former members on a pro rata basis, based upon charges incurred by such members and former members during the two years preceding the event which gave rise to the dis- {._� • solution. HECO 'AGREEPLENT -3 0 CI XI.II... DURATION This agreement shall continue in effect indefinitely, until terminated in accordance with its terms. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned governmental. unit . has caused this agreement to be signed and delivered on its behalf. IN THE PRESENCE OF: Name Gov rnme tal Unit by 1 its / 3 ,, �?� t by its DATED: ! l �I9?fJ ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Eden Prairie this 25th day of May, 1976. FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE HENNEPIN COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, this day of 19 HECO AGREEMENT -28 (b) * Whenever dissolution is . recommended by a two- . thirds vote of the executive committee and such recommendation is approved by a two-thirds vote of all members of the board. (c) Whenever dissolution becomes necessary because of the operation of any law or the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction. Section 2. In the event of dissolution, the board shall determine the measures necessary to effect the dissolution. Such measures may include proposed reallocation of public safety frequencies licensed to the members at the time of dissolution in a manner which will equitably allocate fre- quency resources to serve the citizens of the county. Any plan for allocation of frequencies in the event of dissolution shall be subject to requirements of the Minnesota statewide to communications plan and the Federal Communications Commission. Section 3. Upon dissolution, the remaining assets of HECO, after payment of all obligations, shall be distributed among the then existing members in proportion to their con- tributions , as determined by the board, except that determina- tion as to allocation of pooled frequencies shall be pursuant to majority action of those members who held licenses to such frequencies at the time they became members of the organization. In distributing assets following dissolution, the board shall comply with the following guidelines : (a) All pb;Tsical assets which are contributed by or paid for exclusively by one member shall be returned to that member. HECO AGREEMENT -26 any member to be bound by any financial obligation to the • organization shall also constitute notice of withdrawal. Section 2. Withdrawal from the organization shall be in accordance with the following provisions : (a) Actual withdrawal shall not take effect for a period of one year following the date of notice of intent to withdraw. ('b) Upon the effective date of withdrawal, the member shall continue to .be responsible for any pro rated and unpaid cost sharing charges or contractual obligations incurred by the member- prior to the effective date of withdrawal. Section 3. A member withdrawing from membership at a time when such withdrawal does not result in dissolution of y the organization shall forfeit its claim or right to any • public safety frequency license which it has assigned or other- wise transferred. to HECO, except under the following circum- stances : (a) That the executive committee with the approval of the board of directors authorizes withdrawal of the member and withdrawal of the public safety frequency from the pool of frequencies available to the organization on the grounds that such withdrawal would not seriously hamper continued coordinated public safety communications within Hennepin County, or (b) That the frequency loading of the withdrawing �} HECO AGREEMENT -24 funds except that local contributions to match grant funds • Y may be allowed to the extent of such contributions . Section 9. Board funds may be expended by the board in accordance with procedures established by law for the expenditure of funds by Minnesota statutory cities. Orders , checks, drafts and other legal instrumbnts shall be signed by the president or vice president and countersigned by the secretary-treasurer or such other person as shall be desig- nated by the board. Section 10 . Contracts shall be let and purchases shall be made in accordance with the legal requirements applicable to contracts and purchases by Minnesota statutory C '11 cities . i X. ASSOCIATES Section 1. It is recognized that certain governmental units which cannot qualify for membership or which choose not to be members may desire to follow and participate in the activities of HECO as a forum for inppt into systems design and other characteristics which may be valuable in maintaining a complete coordinated public safety communications system. Such HECO AGREEMENT -22 all members . A similar formula shall be devised for Any other user which does not have a direct population basis for compar- ison with municipal public safety operations. (2) Municipal members shall be charged costs under this subsections one half on the basis of population and one half on the basis of assessed valuation. The board may determine the portion of such costs which represent capital or develop- ment costs which shall become charges for new members after the initial organization is established. Excluded from the above costs shall be the following : (a) Non-grant capital costs and continuing operating costs of a 911 emergency telephone system to a central point , or, .if less costly and consistent with long-range development plans, to selectively routed locations . Costs excluded pursuant i to this clause shall be paid by the county board through a county-wide levy or through the initiation of a telephone user tax. (b) Costs for development of a central facility for dispatching to serve the whole county and development of central computer capabilities for such purpose when recommended by . the HECO board and when the county board determines that it is feasible to develop such facility. Costs excluded pursuant to this clause shall be paid through a county levy. (c) Special capital and operating costs incurred be- cause of a request by an individual member. Costs excluded pursuant to this clause shall be paid by the requesting member. HECO AGREEMENT -20 IX. FINANCIAL MATTERS Section 1. The fiscal year of HECO shall be the calendar year. Section 2 . An annual budget shall be adopted by the Board at the annual meeting in July of each year. The vote on the adoption of the budget and any subsequent amendments thereto shall be by weighted voting at the request of any director. Copies shall be mailed, promptly after adoption, to the chief administrative officer of each member. Section S. The executive committee shall have the author- ity to fix cost sharing charges for all members in an amount sufficient to provide the funds required by the budgets of the organization but such charges shall be in accordance with cri- • teria set forth in the bylaws. It shall advise the chief ad- ministrative officer of each member, on or before August 1, of each year, of the amounts of such charges falling- within the classes defined in Section 5 of this Article. Section 4. Billings for all charges shall be due when rendered. Any member whose charges have not been paid within 45 days after billing shall be in default and shall not be entitled to further voting privileges nor to have its director hold any office until the default has been cleared. In the event charges have not been paid by a member within 45 days HECO AGREEMENT -18 provided, however, that if neither the vice president nor the secretary-treasurer is the director representing the City of Minneapolis, then one of the two other directors on the executive committee shall be the director representing said city.. The procedure for electing directors shall be the same as for the election of a secretary-treasurer as set forth in Article V, Section 4 of this Agreement. Section. 2 . Each member of the executive committee shall have one vote. Section 3. A quorum at a meeting of the executive committee shall require the presence of not less than three officers and/or directors. Action other than to adjourn shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the full executive committee. Section 4. The executive committee may adopt bylaws governing its own procedures, which shall be subject to this agreement, the bylaws of the board, and any resolutions or other directives of the board. Section 5. The executive committee shall meet at the call of the president or upon the call of any two other members of the executive committee. The date and place of the meeting shall be fixed by the person or persons calling it. At least forty- eight (48) hours advance written notice of such meeting shall be given to all members of the executive committee by the HECO AGREEMENT -16 `-� Association, the Public Employees Retirement Association Police and Fire Fund or any other public pension fund available to • employees of one or more of its members and may make any required employer contributions which member municipalities are authorized or required by law to make. Section 12. It may purchase public liability insurance and such other_ bonds or insurance as it may deem necessary. Section 13. It may exercise any other power necessary and incidental to the implementation of its powers and duties. Section 14. The bylaws adopted. by the board of directors initially and any amendments thereto shall provide formulas for the allocation of costs among members and criteria for allocating and assigning various types of costs between classes of charges set forth in Article IX, Section 5. Adoption or i amendment of bylaws required pursuant to this section shall be by weighted voting if requested by any director. VII. OFFICERS Section 1. The officer's of the board shall consist of the president, the vice president and the secretary-treasurer selected in accordance-with the provisions of Article V. The vice president and secretary-treasurer shall be elected at the regular annual meeting of the board held in even- numbered years after 1976 . New officers shall. take office at the adjournment of the annual meeting of the board at which /1• they are elected. - HECO AGREEMENT -14 law in which it may have an interest; to employ such persons as it deems necessary to accomplish its activities and functions on a full-time, part-time or consulting basis; to conduct such research and investigation as it deems necessary on any matter relating to or affecting the general purposes of the organization; to acquire, hold and dispose of both real and personal property as the board deems necessary; to contract for space, materials, supplies and personnel either with a member or with a number of members. Section 3. The board of directors may establish and collect membership dues and other charges for services to members and to others . Section 4. The board may accept gifts , apply for and use grants or loans of money or other property from the United States , the State of Minnesota or any other governmental units or organizations or any other source and may enter into agree- ments required in connection therewith and may hold, use and dispose of such monies or property in accordance with the terms of the gift, grant, loan or agreement relating thereto. Section S. It shall cause an annual independent audit of the books to be made and shall make an annual financial accounting and report in writing to the members. Its books and records shall be available for and open to examination by its members at all reasonable times . HECO AGREEMENT '-12 Section 11. Any dispute as to . the eligibility to serve • as an officer shall be subject to binding arbitration as provided in Article IX. Section 12. Any dispute as to eligibility to vote shall be determined by majority vote of the board of directors. Any director whose right to vote is in dispute can vote on the question of his own eligibility. Section 13. It is agreed that the board of directors shall have broad latitud-e and discretion in defining the mat- ters upon which member municipalities which become ineligible for full participation shall be allowed to vote. The board shall be guided by the intent that such municipalities should be allowed to participate in planning for and maintaining an integrated system, but limiting their participation after July 1, 1978, to exclude them from decisions relating generally to operational processes that do not have .a direct fiscal or frequency distribution impact on them. VI . POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD Section 1. The powers and duties of the board shall in- clude .the following: (a) Development of a plan and operating procedures for an integrated and coordinated public safety communications system which includes county-wide 911 service and the avail- ability of computer aided dispatch capability for all public safety agencies whD are members. (b) Development of a mechanism for assignment of HECO AGREEIENT --10 = the board to . be held at least quarterly in the months of January, April, July and October. • Section 6. Special meetings of the board may be called (a) by the president, (b) by the executive committee or (c) by the executive committee upon the written request of a majority of the directors. Five days ' written notice of special meetings shall be given to the directors and alternates. Such notice shall include the agenda for the special meeting. Section 7. The specific date, time and location of regular and special meetings of the board shall be determined by the executive committee. Regular and special meetings of the board shall be held in the County of Hennepin. Section 8. Notice of regular meetings of the board shall- be given to the directors and alternates by the secretary- treasurer of the board at least fifteen (15) days in advance and the agenda for such meetings shall accompany the notice. Section 9 . Notwithstanding anything in this agreement to the contrary, it is recognized that the staged development of an integrated communications system is likely to involve separate communications dispatching operations by some member units for some period of .time. It is also recognized and agreed that member units which choose to operate independently from any centralized system developed pursuant to this agreement should not continue to have a voice in operational decisions for a central system for an indefinite period. Therefore, HECO AGREEMENT -8 Section 10 . A director (or his. alternate) shall not be • eligible to vote on behalf of his governmental unit during the time that such governmental unit is in default on any contri- bution to HECO or on any contract with it. During the existence of such default, the vote or votes of such governmental unit shall not be counted as eligible votes ' for. the purposes of this agreement. V. MEETINGS - OFFI'CERS Section 1. Any governmental unit desiring to enter into this agreement may do so by the duly authorized execution of a copy of this agreement by its proper officers. Thereupon, the clerk or other corresponding officer of the governmental unit shall file a duly executed copy of the agreement, together with a certified copy of the authorizing resolution or other action, with the county administrator of Hennepin County. The resolution authorizing the execution of the agreement shall also designate the first director and alternate for the member. The agreement shall become effective when it has been executed by Hennepin County, the Hennepin County sheriff, the City of Minneapolis and seven other eligible governmental• units in Hennepin County, and when executed copies from such governmental units eligible to be members, together with certified copies of the authorizing resolutions, have been duly filed as set out herein. Within 30 days after the effective date of this agreement, the sheriff •of Hennepin County shall call the first . meeting of the board, which shall be held not later than 15 days thereafter. HECO AGREEMENT -6 C--' be eligible for one director whose selection shall be determined by the municipalities contracting with each other. Section 2. A governmental unit desiring to be a member shall execute a copy of this agreement and shall pay the established membership dues and charges. Section 3. The initial members shall be those members who join HECO on or prior to July 1, 1976. Section 4. Governmental units joining HECO after July 1, 1976 shall be admitted only upon the favorable vote of two- thirds of the members of the board. - The board may impose conditions upon the admission of members other than the initial members. IV. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 1. The governing body of HECO shall be its board. Each member shall be entitled to one director, who shall have one vote, except as otherwise provided in this agreement. Section 2. Each member shall also be entitled to one alter- nate director who shall be entitled to attend meetings of the board and who may vote in the absence of the member' s director. Section 3. Directors and alternate directors shall be appointed by the council of each member.. In order_ for HECO to be of maximum value to its members, they shall appoint, as their directors and alternates, their chief administrative officers or employees with general administration or public DECO AGREEMENT -4 Section 1. "Hennepin Emergency Communication Organization" means the organization created pursuant to this agreement which is herein referred to as "HECO" . Section 2. "Board" means the Board of Directors of HECO, consisting of one director from .each governmental unit which is a member of HECO. Section 3. "Member" means any governmental unit which has entered into this agreement and is, at the time involved, a party in good standing. Section 4 . "Council" means the governing body of the member governmental unit. Section 5. "Governmental unit" means any city, town ( or county. For purposes of this agreement, the Hennepin • u County sheriff shall be considered a separate governmental unit with the right to participate as a member. The partici- pation of the sheriff shall not exclude participation by Hennepin County as a governmental unit in addition to membership of the sheriff. Section 6. "Weighted vote" wherever used or provided for in this agreement shall be computed as follows : A) Each director who represents a city or a group of cities shall be eligible to cast the number of votes resulting from the following computation: 1) The population of his municipality or the total of the municipalities he represents divided by 2,000 i he CO AGREEMENT -2 1 WHEREAS, it seems feasible to have the several existing • dispatch facilities consolidated into a lesser number, with one centralized facility possibly providing enhanced public safety seruices and the best opportunity for application of current and future technological developments; and WHEREAS, police powers are granted to cities and counties in the State of Minnesota by either statute or charter; and WHEREAS, command and control of public safety and emer- gency service agencies should remain with* the chief or director of said agency; and WHEREAS, public safety radio broadcasting stations owned and maintained by any county are required to be operated under direction of the sheriff, who is the chief law enforcement officer of the county; and WHEREAS, licenses for public safety radio frequencies are held by communities that have expressed interest in partici- pation in a joint powers communications organization; and WHEREAS, Minnesota statutes provide a means for govern- mental units to exercise jointly those activities which they independently are authorized to engage .in; and WHEREAS, the participant communities in a county-wide system desire to be represented on a user board for that system; and WHEREAS,, -the sheriff has determined that the user board shall be more than advisory;