Smyrna 911 Call Center Could Receive More Funding

Municipal 911 call centers like Smyrna’s could receive more state money from a bill now making its way through the Georgia House of Representatives.

House Bill 256 would raise an estimated $8 million to $20 million, according to the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, that would be distributed among the state’s 911 centers. The money would be collected from a 75-cent 911 call fee on prepaid cell phones and prepaid minutes.

“The fees would be collected at the point of sale,” said state Rep. Wendell Willard, (R-Sandy Springs), who authored the bill. “There’s been a similar system in place for years, that was originally designed to help fund our state’s 911 centers, but that money has been going into Georgia’s general fund.

“This bill is designed to rectify that situation.”

According to the Smyrna Public Information Office, the city's 911 center is staffed with 18 personnel, who work a series of 8-hour shifts. Serving a population of 60,000, the center answered a total of 155,072 calls from July 2009 to June 2010. Of that total, 31,209 were emergency, 911 calls.

“The Smyrna 911 Center operates under the Smyrna Police Department and is funded through emergency 911 fees,'' said Captain Thom Baker of the Smyrna Police Department (Communications/911). "These fees have been moving downward because of the use of options such as Magic Jack and pre-paid cell. This means that our 911 operations need to be subsidized by the City General Fund. Any funding received through House Bill 256 would help in meeting the costs of operation, but would not result in enough funding to translate into new equipment or personnel.''

Currently, the bill is in the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee. In addition to Willard – who chairs the influential House Judiciary Committee – the bill also has the support of House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, (D-Decatur).

Legislation was passed in 2008 to assess a 911-service fee of $1.50 on prepaid wireless phones. To date, about $28 million has been collected.

“But not one cent has been used for its intended purpose – helping 911 centers – but has instead been deposited in the state general fund and used for other purposes,” said Beth Brown, director of communications for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.

“As the market for cell phones and telephone land lines shifts, the resources for the operation of 911 centers have declined,” said Brown, whose organization has identified HB256 as one of its legislative priorities. “It is estimated that prepaid wireless phones now represent over 20 percent of the overall wireless cell phone market.”

The revenue would not be distributed evenly among all 911 centers, but based on the size of a jurisdiction’s population.

“But it’s safe to say that those centers with a higher volume of calls, such as those in metro Atlanta, would receive more of the revenue,” Willard said.