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Wayne County Case Study

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WOOSTER — Come Jan. 3, there will two new commissioners in office who were not there when officials from Wayne County, Wooster and Ashland were working on hammering out an agreement to work together on a regional dispatch center.
Commissioners Ann Obrecht, Scott Wiggam and the late Jim Carmichael had different designs on where the center should be located, who should provide oversight and how it should be funded. It ultimately led to Wooster and Ashland moving forward without the county.
The decision had an impact on the relationship between the commissioners and Wooster leaders, though they continued to together on projects. Carmichael, who died in July, often said the commissioners had to look out for the interests of the residents of Wooster …show more content…

“Maybe with someone like me in there, they will express themselves differently.
“There appears to be some damage done. There are too many good leaders in the county to let that misunderstanding continue. Life’s too short. It’s about our lives.”
“When I first became county commissioner, I met with Mayor Bob Breneman, and we talked about ways to work together in the future on projects and try to forge a relationship again,” Smail said. They talked about working on a bike trail project, and she is hopeful she can “build a relationship with the city government. We are all here for the same reason: To serve the electorate. We need to work together where we can.”
Regarding dispatching, Mackey said it is the county’s responsibility for 9-1-1 communications. The state gives that responsibility to the commissioners. “How do you change the ORC (Ohio Revised Code),” he asked. “I don’t know the answer to that. That falls under the authority of the Sheriff’s Office and those policies are monitored by the commissioners.”
“It would depend on the circumstances,” Smail said of joining the regional dispatch center. “I am not saying ‘never,’ but I will have to look at it closely and make sure everyone is on the same page and has the same

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