COUNTYWIDE 911 WON'T BE AVAILABLE UNTIL 1993

If you're a Cape Girardeau County resident, don't expect to pick up your phone and get county-wide 911 emergency response service even if your current phone bill does include a charge for the service.

A charge for the service started showing up on county phone bills last month, though it won't be available, at the latest, until Nov. 5, 1993, members of the county's 911 implementation committee said. Voters approved a fee for the countywide system in November.

"The reason that the tariff is being collected now is so enough money can be generated to purchase and install the enhanced 911 equipment," said implementation committee member Carl Kinnison. According to Missouri law, Kinnison said, the money can be collected up to two years before installation of the equipment.

Committee Chairman Brian Miller said Thursday that he and other county officials have received a maximum of eight to 10 calls from people inquiring about the 911 service. Most of the questions have come from people who are confused as to whether the service is available now since it's appearing on their phone bills, he said.

Kinnison said the charge is 15 percent of a customer's basic monthly phone bill. For the average residential customer, he said, that's $1.35 a month.

Miller said the committee has already met with three firms about rural address conversions, which committee members say will be needed for the 911 project. The committee is preparing a request for a proposal to convert the county's rural addresses that will be submitted to the County Commission, he said, along with the committee's recommendations. The commission will then put the project out for bid, he said.

It is hoped, Miller said, that a firm will be under contract to convert the rural addresses by the first of May. The conversion would take about a year, he said.

Miller said the county is well ahead of some other jurisdictions in the time it has taken to implement a 911 system.