ITEM TITLE:
#21-12 - Amending Chapter 3.20 of the Valdez Municipal Code Titled Enhanced 911 Services. Second Reading. Adoption.
SUBMITTED BY: Bart Hinkle, Police Chief / Sheri Pierce, City Clerk
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Ordinance #21-12. Second Reading. Adoption.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Summary:
• The City currently does not impose a 911 surcharge for wireline and wireless telephone service.
• Prior to 2017, the City received less than $20,000 annually from the 911 surcharge, which was set at $.75 per month for wirelines only (and had not been adjusted since 2005). In July, 2017 City Council elected to remove the 911 surcharge altogether.
• Since then the General Fund has fully funded 911 services.
• Annual cost for status-quo service infrastructure, excluding personnel, are $42,150. The imbalance is funded with general revenues.
o Motorola/Spillman CAD/HipLink/Spillman $35,000
o Response Group - Emergency Command $ 2,900
o WesTek/Stancil - 911 recording software $ 2,000
o Rocket Software - Blue Zone Emulator $ 400
o Pacific Applied Tech - APSIN TCP connection $ 1,850
• Upcoming replacement costs, due to lifecycle include:
o Computers/Switches $ 40,000 (2027)
o Dispatch Consoles $750,000 (2028)
o 911 phone system $200,00 (2030)
• City Administration is proposing a $2.00 per month surcharge for all wireline and wireless accounts. Surcharge revenues, estimated at $122,000, would be isolated in a dedicated reserve account.
Additional Information:
GCI lists, on their Taxes and Surcharges page (<https://www.gci.com/about/taxes-surcharges>), the E-911 (Enhanced 911) Emergency System Surcharge that they impose throughout other areas of the State of Alaska, as authorized in Alaska Statute 29.35.131.
Rate:
• Anchorage $2.00 per access line per month
• Bethel $2.00 per access line per month
• Delta Junction $2.00 per access line per month
• Eagle River $2.00 per access line per month
• Eielson $1.00 per access line per month
• Fairbanks $1.00 per access line per month
• Fort Wainwright $1.00 per access line per month
• Juneau $1.90 per access line per month
• Kenai $2.00 per access line per month
• Kodiak $2.00 per access line per month
• Mat-Su Borough $1.50 per access line per month
• Nome $2.00 per access line per month
• North Pole $1.00 per access line per month
• Petersburg $2.00 per access line per month
• Sitka $1.48 per access line per month
• Wrangell $2.00 per access line per month
• Unalaska $2.00 per access line per month
There are currently 49 active Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in the State of Alaska that receive funding derived from the collection of 911/E911 fees. For the annual reporting period ending December 31, 2019 the total amount collected pursuant to the assessed fees or charges was $14,922,887.36. (see Attachment)