Jamestown  (CSi)   Measure number one on the November  Stutsman County  ballot is a question on approving an increase of up to 50 cents per month per line to the 9-1-1 tax for the Stutsman County Communications Center and 911 services, from $1 to up to $1.50.

Stutsman County Emergency Manager, and 9-1-1 Coordinator Jerry Bergquist says, if  voters approve the measure, the addtional tax would reduce the amount of property tax money used to keep the Communications Center operating.

Information provided by Bergquist  to CSiNewsNow.com says:

  • It costs approximately $650,000 annually to operate the Communications Center, assuming there are no equipment updates needed
  • Stutsman County has charged $1.00 per communications connection since November 3, 1998. The ballot measure passed by a 78.9% margin
  • Beginning July 1, 2017, an additional $0.50 was legislatively mandated to be paid directly to the State of North Dakota for the State Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN) fund
  • 10% of the first dollar is remitted to ND Association of Counties for statewide 9-1-1 contracted services
  • By law, another 5% of the entire amount collected may be kept by the telephone providers to cover their costs of collecting the fees. However, not all phone companies take their 5%
  • The County currently receives $0.85 to $0.90 for each $1.50 it collects which includes the $0.50 paid directly to the State

In 2017, the revenue generated from the current 9-1-1 fee at $1.00 per line, both wire and cell, totaled $234,397 which only paid for 30% of the operational costs, with hardly any money set aside for equipment replacement, and a greater burden placed on other county general fund to make up the difference.

  • In years past, the annual 9-1-1 fees generated close to $450,000 that paid for about 50% of the operational costs of the Center with excess 9-1-1 funds set aside for dispatch equipment replacement. The remaining operational costs came from the county general fund
  • The 9-1-1 funds produced from the current $1.00 fee on both landline and cellular phones has slowly been declining resulting in less revenue to apply toward rising operational costs

Bergquist will be a guest on an upcoming Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2 with additional information.