COUNTY; CAPE 911 SYSTEM HAS MILLION-DOLLAR RESERVE

JACKSON, Mo. -- Cape Girardeau County's emergency-911 system has a million dollars in the bank.

Financed by a tax paid by Cape Girardeau County telephone customers, the system has generated the massive reserve fund in its first eight years of existence.

The money goes to operate the communications system and can't be used for other county operations, County Auditor H. Weldon Macke said. Local 911 officials say they need the $1 million reserve fund to buy new equipment and keep the system in operation should existing equipment break down.

Emergency-911 charges were a topic of discussion at a County Commission meeting this week. Southwestern Bell plans to raise the amount it charges the county for computer services by nearly $1,200 per month, an amount that won't be passed on to telephone customers.

The 911 revenue comes from an 8 percent tax paid by telephone customers on the base charge for local service. That amounts to 73 cents a month for the average residential customer.

Southwestern Bell collects the 911 tax as part of its regular bills and then remits the money to the county. The county's 911 system, in turn, pays a monthly bill to Southwestern Bell.

The system is operated by a seven-member 911 board appointed by the County Commission. Macke said the commission reviews the budget each year and could lower the tax if they believe it generates more revenue than needed.

But once lowered, the tax couldn't be raised without voter approval, Macke said, and voters aren't likely to approve.

"Most people don't want more on their phone bill to start with," he said.

Voters approved a 911 tax in November 1991. The county began collecting the tax in 1992. The tax initially was about 15 percent, but the commission later lowered it to 8 percent.

The tax could generate $500,000 this year, 911 officials said.

The tax revenue has increased in recent years because the number of telephone lines has climbed from about 30,000 in 1995 to about 44,000 this year, a drastic increase attributed to population growth and increased use of computer modems. Last year, the tax generated $465,832.

But expenses for the 911 system totaled nearly $644,000, said Ruth Ann Dickerson of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department and a member of the 911 board.

Expenses included $574,795 for equipment upgrades, training and the salaries of a full-time 911 employee and a part-time person, Dickerson said. Many of the equipment upgrades were designed to avoid Y2K computer problems in the year 2000.