BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      Meeting on Monday, Boardman Trustees agreed to participate into a regional council of governments that will oversee the creation of a new communications system throughout Mahoning County.
      The Council of Governments (COG) includes Boardman and Austintown Townships, as well as the Mahoning County Commissioners and calls for the establishment of a Joint Communications District.
      The new alliance is a groundbreaking event that signals a greater cooperation between county and townships officials, who for several decades have distanced themselves from county government, particularly the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department.
      The new alliance calls for the consolidation of public resources “for cost efficiency and the avoidance of redundant systems.”
      Under the agreement, the county will provide upwards of $2 million, to be used for capital improvements at communication centers in Boardman and Austintown Townships.
      The county will also contribute upwards of $130,000 each to Boardman and Austintown Townships for additional personnel needed under the agreement for additional personnel costs.
      Also, 9-1-1 dispatch operations, currently provided by the county sheriff’s department, will be re-routed to communication centers in Boardman and Austintown. Costs for the re-routing will be paid by county government.
      Under terms of the new Joint Communications District, Boardman Township will provide dispatching services for the township, as well as Coitsville Township, Goshen Township, Lowellville Village, the county coroner, the county dog warden, the county EMA, New Middletown Village, Poland Village, Poland Township and Washingtonville Village.
      Austintown will provide dispatching for its township, as well as Berlin, Canfield, Ellsworth, Milton, Green and Jackson Townships and he villages of Craig Beach and Beloit.
      The Joint Communications District will be overseen by a three-member board, to include representative from Boardman and Austintown Townships, and the county sheriff’s department. Boardman Township Fiscal Officer Bill Leicht will oversee the new district’s finances.
      “This is a good deal for everyone involved,” Leicht said.
      Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree said the agreement and capital improvements will improve the capabilities of emergency communications in Mahoning County.
      Townships, cities and villages currently not served by the communications district will have to pay their share of costs to join the system in the future, Loree said.
      “The concept of a joint communications district will provide for better and upgraded systems at little or no cost to Boardman Township,” Police Chief Jack Nichols said.
      Attending Monday morning’s meeting of Trustees, Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Green, who said township and county officials have been working on the new concept for some time.
      “It was nice working with Chief Nichols and Administrator Loree,” Sheriff Green said, noting “We put our differences aside and worked on a project for the betterment of everyone in Mahoning County.”