COUNTY 911 AUDIT HITS SNAG

JACKSON -- To Cape Girardeau County commissioners, the issue isn't hard to understand: They want the county's 911 account audited now.

But Southwestern Bell, the agency collecting 911 fees through its phone bills, says an audit isn't that simple.

And now it is up to lawyers for both sides to decide the issue.

Cape Girardeau County began collecting 73 cents per line from residential customers and $3.02 from commercial customers on Jan. 1, 1992, to pay for the 911 service county voters approved. The 911 account wasn't audited for over two years.

Schott and Van de ven, which was contracted to do a county audit, wanted a list of all the telephone numbers in Cape Girardeau County. They planned to pick out 300 numbers, check to see how much 911 money Southwestern Bell collected from each, and use the figures to determine if the county was being reimbursed the proper amount from the telephone company.

After county Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones received the list, Southwestern Bell personnel called to say it was shipped out improperly and he must return it.

Jones refused.

On Thursday, Southwestern Bell district manager Charles Bonney met with Jones, the two other commissioners, Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle and Schott and Van de ven personnel to explain Southwestern Bell's position.

Bonney cited the National Electronic Information Privacy Act, a federal law that protects law-abiding telephone users. It wouldn't be a problem to release names and information about people who weren't paying their 911 fees, Bonney said, but the people who obey the law are protected.

He compared the situation to a drug bust. If a person manufacturers illegal drugs in his basement, the police have a right to come in and shut the operation down. If a person obeys the law and police have no reason to suspect otherwise, his privacy is protected.

"Southwestern Bell isn't trying to be an adversary to the county," Bonney said. "We want to cooperate, and if the state law will protect us from federal impeachment, we will be glad to cooperate."

A Missouri law about tax-collecting agencies, Statute 190.310, states: "The governing body may require an audit of the service supplier's books and records concerning the collection and remittance of the tax ...."

As for the privacy issue, Jones said that providing a list of numbers without names would keep law-abiding citizens protected. Names of those not paying the tax already are available to the county.

"All we are wanting to do is audit the books," Jones said. "We want our CPA firm to draw up sample numbers, check them and say everything is fine. If it's not fine, we want to find out, and I'm sure you do, too."

Bonney said Southwestern Bell's tax lawyer would handle the audit issue. He suggested the prosecuting attorney compose a letter explaining exactly what the accountants want. Swingle said he would mail the letter immediately.

While there is no reason to suspect any wrongdoing in the telephone company's 911 collection division, Jones said he will keep the list "under lock and key" until the matter is resolved.

Southwestern Bell community relations manager Craig Felzien said the county's audit request was the first he has heard of in the area, but his company often is asked for private information.

"It comes up every day, and Southwestern Bell makes decisions on the customer's side," he said. "My business is about customer privacy, but this isn't an off-the-wall request from Cape County, either."