Jefferson County Missouri Facing 911 Funding Crisis because of cell phones

Call 911, but who pays? Emergency services footing more of the bill
By Sarah AuBuchon Jefferson County Journal
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Members of the Jefferson County 911 Board of Directors say they are losing money each time a cell phone user calls the center with an emergency.Board members testified Aug. 6 before the Missouri House Interim Committee asking for legislation that would allow them to put into effect a surcharge on cell phone bills for 911 usage.

Board member David Kennedy said the room was full of representatives from 911 call centers statewide who testified about the lack of revenue from cell users.

"Jefferson County has seen cellular 911 calls escalate to 50 percent of the calls received with no decrease in other calls, but no funding flows to the center to pay for handling those calls," Kennedy said.

De Soto Rural Fire Chief Paul Mayer, who is also on the 911 board, said the call center has had to dramatically raise the rates charged to emergency service entities, such as police and fire departments, to help offset some of the lost revenue.

"De Soto's 911 fees went up 93 percent," he said. "Cell phones are a huge part of that."Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer said the sheriff's office pays more than $600,000 per year in 911 fees."It's a pretty good chunk out of our budget," he said.

Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, said out of 114 Missouri counties, there are 21 with no 911 service and only 12 with the capability to track the location of a cell phone.

Roorda said federal regulation calls for all Missouri counties to have 911 service and to be upgraded to "Phase 2," which includes cell phone tracking, within the next several years.Roorda said there is now a surcharge on cell phone bills for 911 service, but the money does not actually go to 911 entities."

Cell phone companies are charging a 911 surcharge for infrastructure as part of the Phase 2 requirements," he said.House Interim Committee Chair Rep. Mark Bruns, R-113, testified before the committee that the 911 system is "in definite need of evaluation.""It's in desperate need of funds," he said.

"Frankly, the most important thing that will come out of the committee is (determining) how we can go about appropriating the funds."

Roorda said he filed a bill last year that would allow Jefferson and other counties the authority to put a tax increase for cell phones before voters, but the measure failed.

"We ought to support certain things as taxpayers," he said. "It's unfair that landline users have carried the burden for so long."

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Mark James said that with no state fee levied on cell users for 911, it is becoming more difficult to sustain and upgrade the service.

"Missouri's 911 response system is one of the worst in the nation," he said. "Over three-fourths of the 911 centers have equipment that is six years old or older, some are on the verge of closing and 21 counties have no 911 service at all."