911 Systems in Illinois Feel Financial Pinch from Budget Freeze

Sept. 26--Local 911 dispatch centers in Illinois are struggling under a tightening financial squeeze because the state has not released funds they rely on from telephone surcharge fees.

All Emergency Telephone System boards received notice last month that the August payment would be their last until the state passes an appropriations bill for 911 service as part of a new state budget.

"We are hearing that a budget will not get passed until April, after the primary election," said Steve Figved, administrator of Will County's 911 system, which gets 85 percent of its revenue from the phone fees. Its current budget is $8.6 million.

The fee on landline phones is paid directly to the 911 systems while fees from cellphones are collected by the wireless phone companies and turned over to the Illinois Commerce Commission, which disburses the money to 911 systems throughout the state. The cellphone fee is money that should pass through the state and has no impact on the state's budget, officials said.

"We have reached out to our state (legislators). They understand and are sympathetic, but they are tied to their party leaders. It's a political standoff. They cannot help us," Figved said.

Oak Lawn Village Manager Larry Deetjen was a member of a state advisory committee that drafted new legislation governing 911 systems -- creating a statewide network and making them equitable throughout the state.

"Obviously, the Democrats and Republicans will have to come together," Deetjen said. "This is just not good government. They should be working round the clock to fix this. People are tired of them not doing their job."

The new 911 law establishes a uniform monthly fee for both wired and wireless phones of 87 cents, beginning Jan. 1, and all fees will be collected and disbursed through the state, with oversight shifting from the ICC to the Illinois State Police. Wireless surcharges are now 73 cents per phone, but the charge for wired lines varies throughout Illinois.

A second bill to fund these changes and appropriate money to many other agencies was vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner in June, and the legislature failed to override it.

"All of us will continue to provide services," said Deetjen, adding that the phone fees represent 30 percent of the total funding for Oak Lawn's 911 system, which includes Burbank, Bridgeview, Evergreen Park and Stickney Fire Protection District and serves about 126,000 people at an annual cost of $3.6 million.

Figved said Will County's six dispatch centers will have to live off the system's reserve funds.

"We are fortunate to have built up reserves. Other (911 agencies) have less than we do. They will have problems sooner," he said.

But once those reserves are exhausted, he said he may have to seek loans from Will County or the municipalities served by the system.

The check that arrived in August was for April's surcharge fees, Figved said, adding that the 911 system is still owed for May, June, July and August. The May and June payments (totaling $350,000) should not be affected by the budget deadlock because those funds came from the 2014-15 fiscal year budget, but the state comptroller's office never disbursed that money to the ICC, he said.

Figved and other 911 officials in the Southland, all of whom await the May and June payments, fear they will never see that money.

"We could be several millions behind by (next) April," he said. "It will be OK if we get all our money, but ... nothing is guaranteed. The state has swept our funds before."

There will be no layoffs and no disruptions to Will County's 911 service, he said, but the agency will not purchase more equipment or upgrade what it has.

"We will sit tight, spend within our limits and keep an eye on our bank account," Figved said.

Patrick Carr, Tinley Park's 911 director, said they're figuring out how to operate with less money. Tinley Park's system is part of the village government and serves only the village. Still, the phone surcharge money is something that "we definitely depend on. It's a significant chunk of our budget," Carr said.

Village Treasurer Brad Bettenhausen said wireless funds have become a primary revenue source because there are now more cellphones than landlines. Cellphone income is about $30,000 per month in Tinley Park's $2 million annual 911 budget, he said.

Typically, payments are two months behind, but four months is unusual, Bettenhausen said.

"When you're holding back that kind of money, it begins to hurt," he said. "We have reserves for the short term. We can weather the storm. But how long will this run?"

Carr is grateful that the 911 system has no capital projects planned during the next six months. It is in the midst of a technology upgrade financed by money acquired previously, he said.

"That is where you will see a significant impact," he said of capital spending.

The new state law is designed to get all 911 systems upgraded to the latest technology, and it requires consolidation of dispatch centers, something Tinley Park is considering, Carr said. But he said such efforts are being delayed because of the lack of funding.

slafferty@tribpub.com

Copyright 2015 - The Daily Southtown, Tinley Park, Ill.