Indiana counties struggle to pay for 911 phone bill

LAFAYETTE -- Several Indiana counties could soon be struggling to pay their 911 phone bills after Verizon Communications quadrupled the amount it charges communities for the service.\nIn Tippecanoe County, the 911 charge increased from $60,000 a year to $240,000 a year under a three-year contract between the county and Verizon. The JournWal and Courier reported Thursday that officials are concerned the county could run out of money to pay for the service by 2007.\nVerizon spokeswoman Jane Howard said the increases affect every community where Verizon provides 911 service, including Fort Wayne, Elkhart and Logansport.\nThe increase was prompted by an audit that showed Verizon's charges did not cover all the costs associated with providing the service, she said.\nTippecanoe County 911 Director Mark Kirby said the County Council might be able to reallocate funds to pay for the service, but he believed surcharges paid by phone customers that have historically funded 911 would be a better source.\nCurrently in Tippecanoe County, those surcharges are 95 cents a month for conventional lines and 65 cents for cell phones. The county could raise the conventional phone rate to $1, but the cell phone rate is set by the state.\nEven if the county raised the conventional rate, it would fall short of the amount needed to fund 911 into 2007, Kirby has said. Raising the cell phone surcharge might help because so many people use them, he said.\nChanging the 911 surcharge formula would require action by the General Assembly, the newspaper reported.\n"I personally believe legislation will be the only way to solve it," Kirby said.\nState Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, said county officials have contacted him about the issue, but he thinks it needs more study.\n"It's not just a Tippecanoe County issue," Hershman said. "It would seem to me it's appropriate to look at the revenue stream in general and determine how 911 should be best funded from what source."\nKirby said many counties are finding themselves in the same crunch. He was not sure if switching 911 providers would save money since Verizon owns the phone infrastructure in the county.\nAllen County has installed its own routing equipment to save money, he said, adding that he was studying how much Tippecanoe County could save by a similar move.\n"People have come to expect when they pick up their phone to have 911," said Kirby. "I don't think the public would accept anything less than that"