Lee's 911 surcharge hike veto leaves WC dispatchers stretched thin

A bill vetoed by Gov. Bill Lee which would have increased the 911 call surcharge will cause Tennessee's Emergency Communication Districts to make tough decisions due to limited revenue and funds. Passed by the Senate during the 114th General Assembly and approved by the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board, the bill would have increased the 911 call surcharge by $0.36 from $1.50 to $1.86. Lee called the bill a "tax increase" and said the Tennessee Emergency Communications Fund holds "substantial reserves" which led to his decision to veto the bill. Tennessee Emergency Number Association — TENA — sent a letter to Lee last week addressing his decision and urging him to reconsider adopting the bill. In the letter, TENA said labeling the surcharge increase as a tax increase "is inaccurate and misleading to the public." "This is not a tax," TENA said in a letter to Lee. "It is a statutorily authorized dedicated 911 service fee … collected exclusively from wireless and wireline telephone subscribers." Every Tennessee resident who has a phone bill pays the $1.50 surcharge every month. The funds are legally restricted and can only be used to support "emergency communications operations and infrastructure," TENA said. Additionally, TENA addressed Lee's comment regarding the Tennessee's Emergency Communications Fund reserves. "While the statewide fund does maintain balances — primarily dedicated to Next Generation 911 … infrastructure, statewide networking and major capital upgrades that benefit all Tennesseans — these reserves do not address the day-to-day operational needs of local ECDs," TENA said. Washington County Emergency Communications Director Greg Matherly said the local agency does not have significant reserves as Lee cited. "I think one of the things that the governor looks at is the Tennessee Emergency Communication Board holds their own reserve," he said. "He counts that reserve as local reserves, which it is not." The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury required local ECD's to keep three months of operating expenses in its reserve. Matherly said Washington County Emergency Communications — WCEC — reserve is currently at $4 million. All local ECD's are required to replace technology equipment every five years including radios, computers and phones. The WCEC needs to replace all 13 of its radio consoles this year which will cost $2 million with one console selling for $150,000. Without the surcharge increase and rising costs of technology this will present challenges for Matherly including having to defer equipment replacements or request more funding from local governments. Additionally, WCEC has been facing an influx of 911 calls as the county's population grows. "We were hoping this money would allow us to put more call takers in the dispatch center," Matherly said. "We have more 911 callers than we've ever had before." He said a study conducted by the state last year concluded WCEC needs seven additional call takers to meet the needs of the population. Matherly will not be able to higher any additional call takers without the surcharge increase. Without proper staffing, he said it can become challenging to answer calls quickly. The national average of answering 911 calls is within 15 seconds or less. The WCEC answers 94% of calls within the average. Matherly said it is important for at least 90% of calls to be answered within the 15 second time frame. He fears the growing population and need for additional call takers will affect the percentage in the case of an emergency. The WCEC serves all Washington County residents including those who live within city limits. When a call is received, the call taker will then contact a dispatcher based on the needs of the caller and the location. Matherly said WCEC currently averages around 6,500 calls a month and this number continues to grow. Local ECD's and TENA will have to wait three years to ask for another surcharge increase. To mitigate WCEC's limited funds, Matherly will have to cut its budget which may include cutting services for cities and counties. While this is not ideal, he must work with what he has and continue focusing on WCEC's priority of answering calls as quickly as possible. "This only helps our citizens, and the city and county not have to pick up [costs]," he said. "They expect service from us."