BELLE — The City of Belle began receiving emergency dispatching services from Gasconade County E-911 on Dec. 15 as the police services contract with Maries County came to a close.

Police Chief Jerry Coborn on Monday afternoon said the Belle Police Department radios were clear.

“So far we are getting real good, clear signal,” said Coborn. “We don’t completely have the (non-emergency number) changed over. It is still going to Maries County. We are supposed to be putting in a new phone line and it will transfer over to Gasconade (emergency services).”

Transferring over the non-emergency number is the final transaction to cut ties with Maries County dispatch.

“When they took over the contract we turned the number over to Maries County,” Coborn said. “It is being transferred back to us and we are giving it over to Gasconade through call forwarding so everything will go through them that way.”

The non-emergency number 573-859-3535 will remain the same.

Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman denied the city of Belle’s request for a dispatching bid, citing a harassment case against a deputy employed by Belle Police Department and the county dispatchers. The city had a brief memorandum of understanding with Osage County 911 Communications Center to provide contracted services at $4,000 for 100 calls. White decided in around the first of November when former police chief Joe Turnbough resigned that they wouldn’t be going with Osage County.

Osage County formally withdrew its offer on Dec. 13 when the county learned the city was pursuing services elsewhere.

“We are running good,” Coborn said of the new service. “We will make two payments a year (that add up to $11,200.”

Coborn said the Belle Police Department is about to finish its first week on its own for the first time in three years.

“Maries County got all of their stuff out on the 14th and now the only thing they have to do is get down their camera system,” Coborn said. “We changed the locks on the doors and only the Belle PD has the keys to it.”

Sgt. Mark Morgan said the former Maries County Substation turned Belle Police Department is still open to the county deputies.

“Maries County pulled all of their equipment, but we are all about working together,” Morgan said. 

Morgan added that the police department was having trouble with the locks on the doors and had the station re-keyed when a locksmith from Rolla came in to rekey the Belle-Bland Community Center and City Hall.

Belle Mayor Daryl White, Jr., said he is proud of the police department’s progress.

“I am really proud of the offer we got from Gasconade County and the way they are treating us,” he said. “The Gasconade County sheriff since day one has been more than helpful with us. They was able to fit our time frame and bent over backwards for us.”

The Gasconade County 911 contract will provide the city with full dispatching services, including

Dispatching emergency and non-emergency calls;

Creating call logs through CAD regarding all incidents;

Emailing or faxing call times or other information to the police department;

Emailing or faxing MULES information to the police department and court 

CAD text messaging to cell phones;

Answering calls from walk-ups to the police department;

After hours dispatching of utilities;

Amdswering calls from the public regarding emergency management;

All MULES transactions for the police department and the court, including

Driving records

Criminal history

Vechicle checks

Property checks

Administrative messages

P/P responses

Warrant entry

Stolen property entry

Stolen vehicle entry

Missing persons entry

Entry validations

Requests for additional non-emergency duties or transactions will be reviewed on a case by case basis.