HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2014 (45) Resolution No. 45 (2014)
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING STATE FUNDING FOR COUNTY
C) Y'NTY 9-1-1 SERVICES/ONE DESIGNATED PUBLIC SAFETY
ANSWERING POINT PER COUNTY
1 WHEREAS, 9-1-1 emergency dispatch services are among the most vital services that
2 counties provide and Wisconsin residents expect a consistent level of service throughout the
3 state, regardless of where their emergency occurs; and
4
5 WHEREAS, under current law each county must individually contract with a
6 telecommunications provider for telephone lines running into each county 9-1-1 Center and
7 counties must depend on a monthly fee on landline telephones which is legally capped at 40-
8 cents per line to pay telecommunications providers for the cost of this service; and
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10 WHEREAS, St. Croix County has approximately 25,000 landline subscribers who are
11 taxed at 26-cents per line with an annual attrition rate of 12.5%; and
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13 WHEREAS, should our provider elect to update our user fee contract, it estimates that in
14 order for their costs to be covered, landline fees would increase to 85-cents, 45-cents of which
15 would become a direct cost to St. Croix County and would currently result in a $135,000 annual
16 levy burden; and
17
18 WHEREAS, in 2003 the State of Wisconsin established a fee on all wireless phones to
19 fund grants to counties to pay for enhanced 9-1-1 services such as wireless call-locating software
20 and equipment; and
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22 WHEREAS, in 2009 the enhanced 9-1-1 grant program expired and, in its place, the
23 Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) and the state's telecommunications providers advocated
24 establishing a permanent grant program to fund equipment purchases and training for employees
25 of county designated Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP), each county to designate one
26 PSAP per county by resolution, to be funded with a monthly fee of up to 75-cents on all devices
27 capable of dialing 9-1-1; and
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29 WHEREAS, instead of funding grants to county PSAPs, in 2009 the Wisconsin
30 Legislature and the Governor re-designated the funding as a 75-cent monthly Police and Fire
31 Protection Fee for all such devices and directed the revenue from the fee to the fund the county
32 and municipal aid(shared revenue) account to meet the other state financial obligations; and
33
34 WHEREAS, without the intended state funding, counties must rely almost entirely on
35 property taxes to pay for equipment, training and consolidation of municipal and county 9-1-1
36 services with many counties unable to upgrade needed equipment to receive texts, video and still
37 photographs,provide necessary training to 9-1-1 Telecommunicators and to foster further
38 consolidation of services; and
39
40 WHEREAS, eliminating the Police and Fire Protection Fee and restoring the funding for
41 9-1-1 without replacing the lost revenue would result in an approximate $50 million annual
42 reduction in shared revenue payments to municipalities and counties.
43
44 THEREFORE, be it resolved that the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors hereby
45 urges the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor to support legislation and state budget action that
46 accomplishes and supports all of the following goals:
47
48 1. Fully fund the County and Municipal Aid Program (shared revenue)with the state
49 General Purpose Revenue, rather than the Police and Fire Protection Fee;
50 2. Establishes a technology-neutral fee on all cellular telephones, landline telephones and
51 other devices capable of dialing 9-1-1;
52 3. Uses the revenue from this fee to fund a grant program to pay for equipment purchases
53 and training for one Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)per county, as designated by
54 the County Board of each county, and to develop financial incentives to encourage
55 consolidation of 9-1-1 services;
56 4. Provide a sustainable source of funding for costs associated with providing all telephone
57 lines (land and cellular)into county Public Safety Answering Points.
58
59 FURTHER be it resolved by the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors that the St. Croix
60 County Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to:
61
62 1. The Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) for consideration
63 at the Wisconsin Counties Association Annual Business meeting;
64 2. The County Clerks of all the other 71 Counties within the State of Wisconsin and all
65 municipalities within St. Croix County;
66 3. The Governor of the State of Wisconsin and all Wisconsin State Legislators with a
67 constituency within St. Croix County urging their support for this resolution and
68 restoration of State funding for this vital public safety service.
Legal—Fiscal—Administrative Approvals:
Legal Note: none
Fiscal Impact: The potential for financial impact can be found in 2 areas. Currently,the landline
"bill and keep" 9-1-1 fee is retained by the Public Service Commission and is
allocated to the prime telecommunications agency to offset costs related to the
delivery of landline 9-1-1. Statutorily speaking,this fee is capped at$0.40/line. The
financial responsibility for costs in excess of the$0.40/line fee is that of the Public
Safety Answering Point(PSAP). Calculating the actual cost and the actual number
of landline subscribers in our county,this additional cost is estimated to be an
additional $135,000 annual cost against the levy. The second area relates to the
current cost for wireless call delivery to our PSAP. That current annual cost is
$10,500. State level reform, as suggested through this resolution would support
funding for both areas of financial burden.
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11/14/14 Adopted
11/14/14 Public Protection Committee APPROVED
........ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Christopher Babbitt, Supervisor
SECONDER: Roger Larson, Supervisor
AYES: Andy Brinkman, Christopher Babbitt, Roger Larson, Stephen Nielsen
EXCUSED: Scott Nelson
Vote Confirmation.
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St. Croix County Board of Supervisors Action:
Roll Call -Vote Requirement— Majority of Supervisors Present
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Andy Brinkman, Supervisor
SECONDER: Ron Kiesler, Supervisor
AYES: Schachtner, Babbitt, Novotny, Sjoberg, Kilber, Nelson, Berke, Ostness, Larson,
Hansen, Kiesler, Brinkman, Peterson, Anderson, Achterhof, Leibfried, Peavey
EXCUSED: Agnes Ring, Stephen Nielsen
This Resolution was Adopted by the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors on December 2, 2014
Cindy Campbell, County Clerk