SOUTHWESTERN BELL AGREES TO AUDIT

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County and Southwestern Bell recently reached a compromise on the Emergency 911 audit issue, allowing the account to be audited while maintaining customer privacy.

Talk about an audit of the account began in October, when Schott and Ven de ven, accountants contracted to do the county audit, wanted a list of all the telephone numbers in Cape Girardeau County. They intended to randomly pick 300 and check how much 911 money Southwestern Bell collected on each for the county.

From that random selection, the auditors would determine if the county was reimbursed the proper amount from the telephone company, which also receives a share of the money.

Cape Girardeau County telephone customers pay 8 percent of their base rate for 911 service. The dollar figure is 73 cents per line for residential customers and $3.02 per line for commercial customers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson exchanges. Customers in other exchanges may have a different base rate and pay slightly more or less.

Southwestern Bell personnel initially sent the requested list of Cape County numbers to Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones, then called to say it was shipped out improperly and they wanted it back. Jones refused.

Two conflicting laws affected the issue. One, a state statute concerning tax-collecting agencies, said a governing body may require an audit of a service supplier's books regarding collection of a tax. The other, the National Electronic Information Privacy Act, protects law-abiding telephone users. If they don't pay their 911 fees, their names may be released; otherwise, the customers' privacy is protected.

Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle discussed the situation with Southwestern Bell's area manager, Charles Bonney, and the company's attorney. The sticking point was having the numbers on paper where names and addresses could be seen, Swingle said.

Bonney suggested the county's accountants be allowed to see a computer screen and copy down information pertaining to the audit without documenting the customers' names.

"It saved a lot of time and trouble on both sides not to seek a court judgment," Swingle said. "The county simply wanted to run an audit to be sure that Southwestern Bell was collecting the proper amount."

The agreement was reached earlier this month, allowing the Emergency 911 account to be audited for the first time since it was opened in January 1992. Schott and Van de ven personnel have finished most of the field work for the audit, a spokesman said, although a few issues remain before the audit can be completed and presented to the commission.

Craig Felzien, Southwestern Bell's community relations manager for the area, said he was glad to see the conflict resolved. "We wanted to give all the customers what they wanted," he said.