WARREN — Trumbull County 911 Director Tacy McDonough asked commissioners on Tuesday to support providing up to $93,861 to pay for the renderings, structural engineering studies and other requirements needed to begin the move of the county’s emergency call center from its current location in Howland to the county’s combined health district building in Cortland.

McDonough showed the commissioners approximately a half-dozen photos illustrating the condition of the 911 building showing ceiling tiles that have repeatedly fallen on staffers, a break room attached to a lavatory and walls with damage.

McDonough argued moving the 911 center is not just moving her office from one place to another.

“It is moving all of the equipment, trunk lines and 911 equipment,” she said.

McDonough suggested the current location was never supposed to be 911’s permanent home.

“The can (for the move) has been kicked down the road since 1999,” she said. “It was supposed to be a temporary location. They’ve flooded out of the building twice. We are at the point where we need to move.”

Two commissioners, Rick Hernandez and Tony Bernard, attended Tuesday’s weekly workshop meeting. Commissioner Denny Malloy did not attend.

Hernandez has been advocating openly for the commissioners to implement a 0.25% sales tax increase. The increase would raise an additional $8 million per year that could be used for the 911 move, a proposed county dog pound and a new building for the county coroner.

Bernard has been vehemently opposing a sales tax increase being imposed on county residents. Bernard said he would support a sales tax increase only if it is placed on a ballot.

The two commissioners each are in the first year of four-year terms.

“I get that it is political suicide for any politician to raise taxes,” McDonough said. “It is also political suicide for you to be in office for four years and get nothing done.”

McDonough suggested the county place on the ballot an improved parcel assessment that would cost residents $40 per year for every improved parcel in Trumbull County, similar to what has been done in Mahoning County.

Based on estimates provided to McDonough, the $40 per year for an improved parcel may raise approximately $3 million per year.

“Anybody who owns a house or an improved parcel is not going to blink at spending $40 a year knowing that when they call 911 the calls will be answered and there will be staff there and knowing they will have the equipment necessary,” she said.

McDonough suggested Trumbull 911 touches every aspect of life in Trumbull County and it needs this financial support.

“I’m asking if we can use a portion of that special fund that the outgoing clerk of court left behind,” she said.

Former Clerk of Court Karen Infante Allen provided the county commissioners $2 million to be used in the general fund.

Bernard questioned why the commissioners should spend the money to do a study on a location that Cortland city officials are planning to move in.

McDonough said Cortland wants to place its administrative staff in the building temporarily, while the city upgrades its buildings.

Bernard suggested he was told the proposed move by Cortland officials would be permanent.

“From the conversations (with health district officials) that I’ve had, they are still wanting us to move in there,” she said.

Bernard emphasized that even if they approved providing the money for phase one for the design of the building, he questioned where the county would obtain the approximately $2 million that will be needed to upgrade the building.

“We don’t have it,” he said.

Bernard asked whether McDonough requested funds for the move from members of the last board of commissioners when it had $38 million in federal American Rescue Plan money.

McDonough said she was not in Trumbull County when the majority of the federal funds were allocated.

After she became the 911 director, McDonough suggested being told by the commissioners they had already allocated funds for 911, including money for the proposed MARCS tower and EMA vehicle.

Neither of the ARP funds approved were directly connected with 911.

McDonough added if the county chooses not to move the 911 center into the county’s health district building in Cortland, it will have to do a feasibility study to find a new location.