PORT TOWNSEND — The proposed reallocation of state money intended for the renovation of 9-1-1 systems into other funds has sounded a warning for emergency personnel in Jefferson and Clallam counties, their leaders say.
“The removal of this money from our budget could endanger our ability for service upgrades and training,” said acting JeffCom 9-1-1 Director Karl Hatton.
“It also betrays the public trust.”
The Senate’s 2013-2015 operating budget proposes to “sweep” $16.3 million from the Washington State Patrol and Military Department, including $8 million intended for the modernization of telephone equipment.
“This robbery of funds from the 9-1-1 system will really affect operations like JeffCom,” said East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Gordon Pomeroy.
“Plus it’s probably illegal, since the dollars were voted specifically for this fund.”
The fund shift does not appear in the governor’s or the House budgets, said Stephanie Fritts, chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the state chapter of the combined Association of Public Safety Officials and National Emergency Number Association.
“The integrity of the 9-1-1 system needs to be maintained,” said Fritts, who is 9-1-1 director for Pacific County.
“We’ve worked hard to protect this, and want to send a clear message to the Senate that we disagree with the proposed budget.”
Calls for comment to Ways and Means Committee chair Sen. Andy Hill, R-Woodinville, were not returned.
Fritts said the allocation of a portion of each customer’s telephone bill for both cellular and landlines to the support of 9-1-1 services was approved by voters in the 1990s.
It currently allocates 70 cents from each landline bill and 25 cents for each cellphone invoice.
Fritts said there has been a recent decrease in these allocations due to the increased tendency for people to shut down their landlines coupled with an increase in “pay as you go” cellphones that are not subject to the tax.
Hatton said JeffCom 9-1-1 is currently working with the state 9-1-1 office that would provide with about $284,900 to support our operational expenses.
An additional $26,500 is given to JeffCom help offset professional development, training, mandated conferences and meetings, 9-1-1 salaries and benefits, technical support and mapping coordination, which is the portion that would be endangered if the Senate budget in its current form is approved.
Across Clallam County, PenCom is a division of the Port Angeles Police Department and is not as dependent on state funds, PenCom Communications Director Steve Romberg said.
But the diversion of funds by the state could hinder the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1.
“We really need those upgrades,” Romberg said.
“There is a section of the public with speech and hearing disabilities whose only connection to 9-1-1 services is text messaging.
“If we don’t have the equipment to receive these messages, we are not serving the public.”
The full impact of the fund sweep would not be felt until the 2015-2017 biennium, when the bulk of initial Next Generation 9-1-1 expenditures are planned to occur, according to a memo from Association of Public Safety Officials and National Emergency Number Association president Brenda Cantu.
“County impacts will be disproportionate as some counties are in extremely tight cash flow circumstances and cannot currently pay bills without a guarantee of state funding,” the memo reads.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
