PROP A: FEE TO SUPPORT 911 FOR CELL PHONES

A proposal to implement a 50-cent monthly fee on wireless telephone users to upgrade 911 emergency-telephone systems so that they can handle wireless phone calls more efficiently will be put to a statewide vote on April 6. It will be on ballots as Proposition A.

Currently, few 911 systems around the state are capable of handling calls from cellular phones. That may surprise a lot of cell-phone users, many of whom acquired the phones thinking they would be handy in cases of emergencies on the highway, including encounters that might necessitate a 911-type call.

Missouri motorists, particularly in rural areas, often have difficulty reaching police and other emergency service agencies when they dial 911 on their cellular phones. They can call the Highway Patrol's emergency number, *55, but more than half of respondents in a recent survey didn't know that number. The same survey showed 90 percent of the respondents knew the 911 number.

Another problem is that even when cellular phone customers get through on 911, their calls aren't always handled by the closest 911 operator. When that happens, it can take time to reroute a call to the proper police, fire or ambulance service, and time is of essence in an emergency.

The monthly fee would generate about $6 million a year to pay for equipment upgrades and operating costs to enable cellular phone customers to use 911 systems efficiently. In about two years, an automated system would be implemented to allow dispatchers to locate a 911 call to within 425 feet of the spot where it was placed.

Proposition A, which requires a simple majority for passage, appears to be a well-thought-out proposal. The state would keep 5 percent of the money. Another 10 percent would be divided equally between the 125 centers in the state that handle 911 calls. And the remaining money would be distributed by the state Office of Administration to cellular phone companies and 911 centers to pay for new equipment and operating costs for the wireless emergency service. And only those who own cellular phones would pay the fee.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make 911 the official emergency number nationwide. If it becomes law, there will be even more 911 wireless calls made in Missouri, and many of those calls will be a matter of life or death.