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Leaders Push 911 Cell Phone Fee

Posted on: Thursday, 1 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Susan Hylton, Tulsa World, Okla.

Dec. 1--With more people relying solely on cellular phones, Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz said it is critical for dispatchers to have the technology that can pinpoint the location of incoming wireless calls.

Voters will be asked on Dec. 13 to approve an enhanced 911 system that would cost cell phone users 50 cents a month.

"This election, I think, will touch every family in Tulsa County," Glanz said at a Wednesday news conference.

Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune, EMSA representatives and other members of the law enforcement community joined Glanz in front of the Golden Driller at Expo Square to stress the importance of the upcoming vote.

Most 911 callers in the grips of an emergency do not give an address. Dispatchers spend a lot of time getting directions, which can be difficult if the caller is disoriented or on the highway. Countless dispatch recordings capture life-and-death situations in which cell phones have impeded the emergency response process. Most recently, Glanz said, some individuals didn't know where they were when they called about wildfires.

There is a misperception that dispatchers know where cell phone calls originate, Glanz said. That could be because cell phones today are equipped with locater technology. But that technology doesn't help dispatchers at various police, fire and 911 centers, said Darita Huckabee, legal and legislative coordinator for the Indian Nations Council of Governments.

"We don't have the catcher's mitt in the form of the right equipment to catch and use it," she said.

Not only would the new system help improve response times to crimes and medical emergencies, but it would allow dispatchers to prioritize calls.

"This is a way to vastly improve public safety with one vote at a minimal cost," LaFortune said.

Forty to 50 percent of 911 calls now come from cell phones, but cell phone users are paying nothing toward an emergency system.

People with land lines already pay a fee for emergency services collected by their phone company, and first-responders can easily track their addresses. The fee is usually 3 percent to 5 percent of the base phone service rate.

Dispatchers often receive calls from outside their jurisdiction, because of the location of the cell phone tower that delivers the call. Those calls have to be rerouted to the appropriate dispatcher.

"That extra time can have a huge impact on patient outcomes," said EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells.

The proposed cell phone fee would pay for new equipment and technology that is expected to cost between $1 million and $2 million, as well as monthly expenses to keep the system running.

The measure has wide support among local governments. City councils in all the municipalities in Tulsa County have passed resolutions favoring the measure, said County Commission Chief Deputy Paul Wilkening.

Tulsa County will be among more than 20 counties voting on the 911 enhancement Dec. 13.

Rogers and Payne counties have already approved the measure.

McIntosh, Mayes, Stephens and Tillman counties rejected the measure in September. Some attribute those defeats to being on the same ballot as a proposed fuel tax increase that was overwhelmingly rejected statewide.

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To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Source: Tulsa World

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