Emergency Services Boards in two area counties are suing their county commissions, seeking immediate access to use tax revenues they say state law now entitles them to.

In a lawsuit filed last week in Saline County, the E-911 boards in Saline and Carroll counties are asking for a court order, requiring their commissions to reallocate use tax equivalent to the one-half cent sales tax that Saline County voters passed in November 2006 and one-cent sales tax approved by Carroll County voters in April 2002. The boards argue in their suit that the passage of Senate Bill 271 last year allows them and boards in 29 other counties to immediately claim use tax revenue. They note that a handful of county commissions, including Howard County, have already agreed to provide their boards their share, which the boards say will go toward central dispatching services and equipment, including NextGeneration 911 services.

The two emergency services boards, along with their counterparts from Stone County, recently petitioned to join the initial lawsuit filed in November in Cole County by the Putnam County E-911 Emergency Services Board against their county commission. Washington County had been involved in the initial lawsuit, but attorneys motioned last month for their board to withdraw from the case. Attorneys for the Putnam County Commission are seeking a dismissal of this lawsuit, arguing that Cole County is not the right venue to hear the case and that the court therefore lacks jurisdiction. A motion hearing on the original lawsuit is scheduled for Feb. 2 in Jefferson City.

In anticipation of receiving service on the lawsuits, the Saline County Commission voted Wednesday, Dec. 31 to designate the  Schraeder Law Firm as their counsel for the case. Schraeder is also representing Putnam County.