Surcharge cut to $1 by law

The Washington County Communications Center may be short tends of thousands of dollars in revenue next year because of a bill that the Iowa legislature passed and which Gov. Terry Branstad signed last week. The bill was Senate File 2332 and was signed into law Wednesday, May 2 and will take effect Jan. 1, 2013.

Most notably, the bill limits the monthly landline surcharge a county can impose for 911 equipment to $1. Washington County currently charges $1.50 per month to its landline users. It is one of only two counties in the state that charge more than $1 per month for 911 equipment. Communications Supervisor Cara Sorrells estimated the change in the law will mean a loss of revenue of at least $30,000.

Senate File 2332 places a moratorium on surcharges that are over $1 per month. The law establishes an E911 task force, which will study issues such as the surcharge. The moratorium will remain in place for 150 days following the release of the task force?s findings. Sorrells said she is going to attend the task force?s first meeting to push for the removal of the moratorium. She said the moratorium could last over a year.

Sorrells said the law will actually generate more revenue for the vast majority of counties because it will double the revenue from cell phone surcharges. The communications center receives about 16 cents from cell phone users, and that number is expected to increase to 32 cents under the bill. While Sorrells expects to gain about $20,000 from those increased cell phone charges, she predicts she will lose about $50,000 from the cut to the landline surcharge.

Sorrells said Washington County has had its surcharge at least eight years. The surcharge must be approved every two years. The communications center has made several equipment purchases in the past year. That includes spending $140,000 on a new 911 system and $30,000 for a 911 database

?Without that money from the surcharge, we would not be able to fund these equipment purchases,? she said. ?We?re going to have to put a moratorium on spending. We are going to be in a financial crunch next year.?

Sorrells said it will take five to 10 years to rebuild the E911 budget?s reserves to a healthy level. Not only that, but there is a new kind of 911 equipment available known as ?Next Generation 911.? It can receive a live video feed. The 911 equipment that was installed last fall can support text messages but not videos. Sorrells said she worries about having to purchase more equipment to comply with federal mandates.

Sorrells said that a few other counties have tried to pass surcharges in excess of $1 but have been unsuccessful. Shelby County is the only other county with a surcharge over $1, and its is $2.50.