House Bill Puts 911 At Risk In Many Michigan Communities

LANSING, MI - Thursday, September 18, 2008 - On Wednesday September 24, 2008, the Michigan House Energy & Technology Committee will meet at 9:00 AM at the 519 House Office Building in Lansing. The meeting will be chaired by 42nd District Representative Frank Accavitti, Jr. The purpose of the meeting will be to consider and make recommendations concerning disposition of House Bill 6070 (The Funding for Emergency 9-1-1 Service Enabling Act) originally sponsored by 96th District Representative Jeff Mayes.

Considering the huge impact this piece of legislation will have on local law enforcement, there is little doubt that it will be discussed at length at today's Gogebic County Enhanced 911 Committee Meeting. That meeting will be held at 2:00 PM in the Basement Conference Room at the Gogebic County Courthouse in Bessemer.

History:

  • Under the old legislation, county commissions could levy up to 80 cents per month on landlines by resolution of the board, and up to $4.00 per month by vote of the people. Millage and general fund were also acceptable. Cell phone and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) owners paid nothing in local surcharge.


  • Under the current act, county commissions can levy an amount by any means (resolution, vote of the people, or combination), and the surcharge applies to all devices. Millage and general fund is also acceptable. The surcharge amounts for the current year were set by the MPSC, but that authority has now expired. The current legislation expires on February 28, 2009, and if it isn't reauthorized, 911 surcharges will expire and the system would be at risk of collapse.


County Public Safety Plan for 911:


  • A cap on county commission resolution surcharge derived as follows: the year with the highest number of landlines in a county multiplied by 80 cents per month, divided by the billable lines today. Then add a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) beginning in July of 2009 using Detroit's Consumer Price Index (CPI).

    • This maintains the ability of a county to provide for the public safety with the same purchasing power in the future as it had in the past, even though the technologically-heavy costs of 911 operations and equipment have increased exponentially.

    • This provides the ability for a county to achieve a baseline of public safety response in counties that can not pass voter-approved funding mechanisms.


  • No cap on voter approved surcharge over and above the commission surcharge cap.

    • If the voters want a more robust system, their decision should be valued and trusted.


  • Preserve local autonomy of county surcharges.

    • Locally elected officials should not be second-guessed by Lansing.

    • Local needs are understood best at the local level.


  • Grandfather those currently above the commission resolution surcharge cap.

    • If the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) set the current surcharge above where the new commission resolution surcharge cap happens to fall, the old surcharge needs to be protected in statute to avoid litigation, or complicated ballot timing issues.

    • Anything above the grandfathered amount would have to go to a ballot.


  • Go back to monthly payments from telephone companies, rather than quarterly.

    • Telecom companies are earning interest from the surcharge payments of Michigan's citizens, and that interest ought to be used to help defray the cost of 911, making the system cheaper.


  • Allow county commissions to change the surcharge rate at any time, or failing that, a June 1 notification date for implementation on July 1.

    • In order for the mechanics of the surcharge rate to work, while allowing for ballot questions on surcharges as well, the notification date needs to be moved back, or eliminated.


  • Sunset of 2013

    • Five years was the original sunset date of last year's legislation, and we still support five years.


  • Set the commission resolution surcharge cap for those counties that do not have one at the average of all of the others.

    • There is no way to calculate landline counts in counties that do not have surcharge, so the most equitable way to calculate the cap for commission resolution approved surcharge is to average the other county caps together.


The County Public Safety Plan is Right for Michigan:


  • This plan best provides for the public safety.

      • By allowing the commission to set an amount by resolution, a minimum standard is guaranteed to be provided for the public safety.

      • By allowing the people to vote an increased amount, the people get a system as robust as makes them comfortable.

      • By protecting local control, a system that works for the people, and the unique public safety challenges of that county is guaranteed.


  • The County plan is conservative

      • In fact, by only asking for an inflation adjustment in the future on the commission cap, the counties are asking for less than the counties would have been due based on historical inflation.

      • Above the commission cap, the decision is left up to the people.

      • This plan asks for no more than what was originally authorized to be raised, and reinstates the people as the decision-makers above the commission cap.

      • 911 has grown very technologically dependent, and the equipment costs have increased exponentially, but the caps have remained the same.

        • Tracking technology, ability to take calls from all devices, computer aided dispatch, maintenance, radio technology, and energy costs, etc. are all new costs or have increased significantly since 1994.

          • All of this technology decreases response time, increases efficiency, and aids in locating the victim.

        • All the counties ask is the right to cover inflation, so that individual County's purchasing power remains the same.