Editorial: August 9, 2007
Missouri needs 911 fee for cell phone users
In many areas of Missouri, a cell phone call to 911 for help is routed to a dispatcher far away from the caller with the emergency.
Often dispatchers cannot pinpoint the location of 911 calls.
They lack the equipment. Cell phone callers, including children, who can’t identify their location are at risk because of Missouri’s inadequate 911 system.
About 20 counties in Missouri have no 911 emergency service, even via landlines. Yet 911, where available, is a proven lifesaver, the fastest way to get emergency help.
Previous ballot proposals to improve 911 service in Missouri probably failed because proposed emergency call surcharges on cell phones would have gone, in part, to phone companies.
That should not be part of any new proposal that goes to Missouri voters.
Missouri pays for 911 largely through county-assessed tariffs on landline phones. Cell phone users do not pay anything to the state to connect to 911 services. That’s not fair.
As more people switch to using cell phones, use of landlines is dropping.
To make up the difference between 911 costs and available funding, many counties have to dip into their regular budgets.
Betty Knight, Platte County presiding commissioner, says her county pays more than $450,000 out of its general fund to supplement what it receives from its county landline tax.
A Missouri legislative committee is considering proposals by the Mid-America Regional Council and others to implement a 911 surcharge both for wireless and Voice Over Internet services.
No one likes all of the perplexing extra fees on phone bills already, and efforts should be made to reduce them. But a 911 surcharge would clearly enhance public safety.
Kansas has a 50-cents-a-month statewide emergency calling fee for cell phone and Voice Over Internet service.
Missouri Public Safety Director Mark James has called for a 75-cents-a-month surcharge to pay for expanded services.
This is welcome leadership that could save lives.
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