For years, counties in Mississippi have been collecting fees for 911 calls made from landline phones to help pay for emergency services, such as new technology, call towers and dispatching upgrades.
But there was a loophole: While 911 callers had to pay for landline calls (up to $1 for residential and $2 for commercial), people who called 911 though an Internet-based phone service dodged the fee. But a number of counties are enacting legislation to put an end to it. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors, for example, just passed an amendment to impose a $1 monthly fee on Internet-based phone service.
"The amendment was passed because there was no amount of money being retrieved from people with Internet-based phones," said board President Robert Graham, who proposed levying the fee.
The service charge complies with the state's recent emergency telecommunications bill signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour, which imposes a $1 tax on voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and prepaid cell phones to help fund 911 services.
Go to Government Technology to learn more about Hinds County’s 911 surcharge.
[Photo courtesy of Barry Bahler/FEMA]
Hinds County, Miss., Imposes Surcharge on 911 Calls via Internet-Based Phones
By: Russell Nichols on August 10, 2010
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.emergencymgmt.com/grants/Hinds-County-Miss-Surcharge-911.html
Related Articles
- Funding Critical Projects Requires Creativity, Collaboration
- Hinds County, Miss., Imposes Surcharge on 911 Calls via Internet-Based Phones
- Cities Implement First Responders’ Fee for Nonresidents to Fill Budget Gaps
- How Much Homeland Security Federal Funding Should New York City Receive?
- Higher Education Grants to Fund All-Hazards Planning for Institutions
Featured Articles
4 Ways to Get EM
