Vote will determine if 911 surcharge will remain at same level

    Voters in Washington County will decide whether to continue the $1.50 monthly landline surcharge on Nov. 2 or let it revert to $1. The surcharge pays for telecommunications equipment for emergency services and not for salaries, insurance, building repairs or other costs. If the ballot measure passes, it will remain $1.50 for another two years.

    At its meeting in June, the Washington County E911 Board voted to support the continuation of the $1.50 surcharge. At the board?s August meeting, Washington Police Chief Greg Goodman spoke about the old portable radios he and his officers use. He said they are four or five years past their life expectancy, and they must be replaced.

    ?We have officers using equipment that is liable to fail when they need it to work,? said Goodman. ?Simply put, we can?t have this stuff fail. They?re getting into situations in the middle of the night that are scary and they need equipment that works.?

    Goodman said 911 equipment doesn?t just benefit the police department but also the sheriff?s department, firefighters, quick responders and, of course, the residents themselves.

    ?It takes financial support to keep this system going,? said Goodman. ?The equipment is expensive to buy and maintain. It is extremely important that we keep it up to date.?

    Goodman remarked that the funds from the surcharge are ?critical.?

    ?All budgets are strapped right now, all the way around,? he said. ?911 does fund a lot of the radio equipment in patrol cars, on officers? belts, and the towers. We?re in dire need of replacing equipment now.?

    At that same August meeting, Communications Supervisor Cara Sorrells informed the board that the 911 equipment in the dispatch center is showing signs of wear and should be replaced soon. The equipment she referenced is that which receives the 911 calls and then searches the computer?s database for the caller?s name, their return phone number, a map and directions to the address for the responder unit.     

    ?We?re starting to see the age of our equipment,? said Sorrells. ?I don?t want to wait until the equipment dies.?

    Sorrells said all the 911 equipment was replaced in 2000. Since then, 911 services has replaced monitors and a few pieces of equipment, but that the time for a full overhaul is drawing near, she said.

    Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar said the surcharge is especially important in view of the state mandate that all radios be narrowband to allow for a greater number of frequencies. Dunbar said some of the equipment is due to be replaced anyway.

    ?It?s time to start replacing our portable radios,? said Dunbar. ?They?re at the end of their life expectancy.?

     Dunbar remarked that some of the 911 hardware is 5 years old, but because it is used constantly, it is as worn as ordinary hardware is after 15 years. 

    ?A lot of it operates 24 hours a day, compared to a normal work computer or your home computer that runs a couple of hours at night,? he said. ?The 911 equipment that the phone dials in on needs to be replaced. When that goes down, the phones don?t ring.?

For more, see our Oct. 25 print edition.