RSS Feed
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
E-911 monthly tariff to be $2 The Clarke County E-911 Board voted June 25 to raise the tariff on household land-line phones from 75 cents to $2-permonth. The tariff on businesses will increase from $1.88 to $2-per-month. This is the first increase in the tariff since the E-911 system was created 11 years ago, and the increase will become effective Sept. 1. The motion was made by Commissioner Elma Averett and seconded by Commissioner Rhondel B. Rhone. There are approximately 13,000 land-line phone accounts in Clarke County. According to E-911 estimates, the increase will bring $26,000 per month or $312,000 per year. The majority of the phone accounts come from household accounts, said E-911 Coordinator Becky Neugent. "We have roughly 1,000 to 1,500 businesses," she said. Land-line phone usage continues to be reduced as cell phones and internet phone services become more popular. Clarke County only receives 0.0023 cents from the 75- cent monthly fee paid by cell phone companies. There are approximately 27,557 cell phone customers in the county. Only the State Legislature can increase the tariff on cell phone customers. "We're asking the Legislature through our [Association of County Commissions] to work on that," said Commissioner Patricia DuBose. "They have just recently passed a House bill that will increase the whole amount that the state wireless board gets," Neugent said. "Most of the upgrades we have had to do involve being able to respond to cell phone callers," DuBose said, "yet, we get such a little bit from cell phone users." The ability for customers to transfer their household phone number to cell service had increased the change from landline to cell, Commissioner Rhone said. "We have a lot of people just letting their land-line go," he said. He said he didn't want to make the tariff so high that it would drive even more customers away from land-line use. In a comparison of surrounding counties, both Washington and Marengo counties have a $2 tariff (both household and business); Choctaw, $3.10; Wilcox, $3.23; Baldwin $1.36 (household) and $3.48 (business); and Monroe, $1.50 (household) and $2 (business).
The budget for the county E-911 system is $450,000 a year, Neugent said. "We have not raised the [tariffs] since [E- 911] was inaugurated," DuBose said. "We're providing far greater service now, and it requires greater expenditure on our part."
|
for larger version       Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
