By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS – A landline surcharge which supports E-911 will increase 50 cents per month following action Thursday by the Cass County Board of Commissioners.
"In addition to passing this, we should also create a resolution to send to the state saying we want cell phone charges looked at and changed," urged Commissioner Robert Ziliak, R-Niles.
"The way this comes out, we have 32,404 cell phones in the county and 20,860 land lines and if we increased both 19.6 cents, that would generate $125,000.
"Instead, we're putting all of the burden on the land lines, which in turn is going to create people leaving land lines and going to cell phones," Ziliak observed. "The next time around, land lines are going to get hit that much harder," accelerating the trend.
That's because wireless charges are mandated by statute, while the county Board of Commissioners determines the landline surcharge.
According to Undersheriff Rick Behnke, the county receives $1.90 for each landline phone, compared to less than 26 cents for each wireless phone.
Thursday's 50-cent adjustment will make the landline surcharge $2.40.
"This is not an arbitrary number," Behnke wrote in an Oct. 27 memo to Chairman Robert Wagel, R-Wayne Township, "but the amount necessary to balance the budget for 911 services."
Central Dispatch revenues have deteriorated from $606,898.14 in 2002 to $475,619.02 in 2006.
Cell phone revenue stood at $98,562 in 2002 and grew to just $101,103 by 2006.
This year, actual revenue totals $576,722.02 versus actual expenditures of $947,953.43.
In 2007, revenues of $608,500 are projected to cover a cost of $903,436, which means a $294,936 deficit.
"I also have a concern about the percentage of increase in the budget," Ziliak said. "Between 2002 and 2003, there was a 7-percent increase in the budget. Between 2003 and 2004, 16-percent increase in the budget. Between 2004 and 2005," projecting the nine-month budget to a full year for comparison sake, "18-percent increase. And 2005 to 2006, another 9 percent. I think we should be looking at these budgets to see what's going on and where all this money has been spent."
County Administrator Terry Proctor responded, "I really appreciate your question, Mr. Ziliak. I know the sheriff, undersheriff and myself would be more than happy to sit down with any commissioner to go over the expenditures from 2002 to 2006 and show you why it's gone up.
"Please don't forget," Proctor continued, "during this time period this county built a new E-911 facility and replaced all of its equipment, updated everything significantly including, most recently, computer-aided dispatch."
Dowagiac Commissioner John Cureton commented, "I notice the letter from the undersheriff says that in an effort to adjust the budget, one position is being eliminated. Yet the total fulltime pay is going up from $309,000 this year to over $315,000. Seems like with one position being eliminated there shouldn't be an increase."
Proctor replied, "There was a position added to the 911 facility to allow the movement from the old computer-aided dispatch system to the new one. That's the position that will be eliminated. Otherwise, this increase in the surcharge would have to be greater than 50 cents. Furthermore, the way we are set up, dispatchers are part of the Act 312 binding arbitration award. Their salaries and wages are determined by the arbitrator. If you recall, that was a three-year process or so. Those things accumulate. Once we finally got the Act 312 decision, we implemented that. It catches up. This (the 50-cent increase) will narrow the increase. If this is approved by the board tonight, we'll follow through with implementation of the increase, then update our budget estimate after that."
Proctor said it usually takes telephone companies two months to implement a surcharge adjustment.
"I've never figured that out myself," he said. "It seems to me all you probably do is turn some switch on some computer somewhere, but this probably will not start to show up on your own telephone bills until January. That means we will not get revenue from the increase for the month of December."
Proctor noted for commissioners that the surcharge issue has already been before the Legislature without resolution.
"The whole system had a sunset provision to it," the administrator said. "The Legislature in the last session, and it's election year, was not able to resolve it and, in fact, just extended the current system.
"They're going to have to address it because this issue is affecting every county in Michigan. How are we going to finance this absolutely essential E-911 system that we all have? When they put limitations on property taxes and they put limitations on all your other revenue sources, but this is an essential public service. Here we are, every four years, going to the voters saying, 'Please approve this because if you don't, you're going to lose this.' When you rank things counties ought to be doing, this is up there at the top, yet it's a political football as to how much the charge is going to be on the cell phone. We have no control over that as a county."
"The only control they've given you is on the land lines," Proctor continued. "Your hands are tied as a board unless the voters approve giving you the latitude – which they did in August in every precinct in the county – to increase that surcharge as necessary to continue this vital service."
Proctor said Berrien County debated the issue last month.
"Same story," he said. "They're having to put a surcharge on the land line and not being able to address cell phones, which are growing in usage as land lines continue to decline. Berrien increased 83 cents, and that's not acceptable to people."
"Is it essential that we do this today?" asked Commissioner David Taylor, D-Edwardsburg. Or, "is there a delay factor involved?"
Proctor called it "absolutely essential" because of the two months it will take Verizon to implement the change.
"I'm going to vote for this tonight but I'd like to have some kind of assurance should our legislators, in their great wisdom, come across with a decent charge on cell phones, that this can be reduced to make it more equitable for everybody," requested Commissioner Dale Lowe, R-Niles.
Commissioner Gordon Bickel, R-Porter Township, voted "reluctantly yes."
"Also reluctantly yes," Cureton said.
Commissioner Ed Goodman, D-Silver Creek Township, joined Commissioner Alan Northrop, R-Marcellus, in opposing the surcharge increase.
Northrop said after the meeting he voted no because the county seems too eager to "throw money" at a problem instead of exploring other solutions.
Goodman characterized his vote as one of "principle" and "protest" because voters were led to believe last summer that they were voting for a "status quo" surcharge.
Commissioners ended the afternoon in closed session to discuss strategy for collective bargaining and for property acquisition.