PROP A WOULD HELP 911s; WIRELESS PHONE TAX VOTE APRIL 6

Supporters of Missouri's Proposition A say the measure to upgrade the 911 system for wireless phones could be a life saver.

Voters will decide April 6 whether to approve the measure, which would impose a monthly fee of up to 50 cents on wireless customers.

The fee would generate about $6 million a year. The money would pay for equipment upgrades and operating costs associated with providing cellular phone customers with a better 911 system, proponents say.

Alan Wells chairs Missourians for Safety, the group that is backing the ballot measure.

Wells directs St. Francois County's 911 center, which handles all of the 911 calls and dispatching duties for police, fire and ambulance services in the county.

St. Francois County upgraded its 911 center about a year and a half ago so it can handle wireless 911 calls. But Wells said most county 911 systems aren't equipped to receive emergency calls from cellular phones.

Proposition A would provide for equipment upgrades for 911 systems throughout the state, he said. It also would help fund operating costs for the wireless 911 systems.

"Certainly, it is a good thing for public safety," he said.

Richard Knaup Jr. agrees. Knaup chairs the Cape Girardeau County 911 Advisory Board.

The board oversees the spending of about $450,000 a year from a 911 fee paid by phone-line customers. The money is used to operate 911 systems at the Cape Girardeau and Jackson police departments and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. It also goes for the operation of a secondary 911 system for the ambulance service.

Knaup said he doesn't know how much money the county's 911 system would receive from the proposed wireless-phone fee.

But he said it would be less than what the fee paid by phone-line customers generates.

"It will be a great service for the public," Knaup said.

Wells said Missouri motorists, particularly in rural areas, often have difficulty reaching police and other emergency service agencies when they dial 911 on their cellular telephones.

Wells said a fatal accident in 1997 illustrates the need for an improved phone system. Three people died in a van and car crash near Neosho in southwestern Missouri on Thanksgiving Day. Motorists on U.S. 71 saw the van weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds prior to the accident, but they couldn't notify police by dialing 911 on their cellular phones, Wells said. The van collided with the car while motorists were trying in vain to contact emergency personnel, he said.

Motorists can call the Highway Patrol's emergency number *55. But Wells said more than half of the respondents in a recent survey didn't know the patrol's emergency number. The same survey showed that 90 percent knew the 911 number.

Wells said the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make 911 the official emergency number nationwide.

If that measure becomes law, there will be even more 911 wireless calls made in Missouri, he said.

Even when cellular phone customers get through on 911, their calls aren't always handled by the closest 911 operator. It can take time to route a call to the proper police, fire or ambulance service, Wells said.

In addition to initial improvements, a second phase within about two years is expected to provide an automated system that will allow dispatchers to locate a 911 call to within 425 feet of the spot where it was placed.

The need for improved wireless communication in emergencies doesn't concern only motorists. Wells said more people are using cellular phones in their homes and businesses as their main phones.

Missouri has an estimated 1 million cellular phones.

The cost of improving the 911 system would be borne solely by the wireless phone customers, Wells said. "If you don't have a wireless phone, Proposition A won't cost you a dime,' he said.

Cellular phone companies would collect the money. They could keep up to 1 percent of the revenue to cover administrative expenses. The rest of the money would be sent to the state. The money would be distributed by the state's Office of Administration with the aid of a 911 advisory board.

R.D. Porter is a telecommunications specialist with the Office of Administration in Jefferson City. He serves as a liaison to the advisory board.

If Missourians approve Proposition A, wireless phone companies will start collecting the fee, probably in May, Porter said.

The money sent to the state would be distributed in various percentages. The state would keep 5 percent of the money. Another 10 percent would be divided equally between all the 911 centers in the state handling wireless calls. There are about 125 emergency 911 systems in the state.

The remaining 84 percent of the money would be distributed by the Office of Administration to cellular phone companies and 911 centers to pay for new equipment and operating costs for the wireless emergency service.