It’s not often a state agency proposes to decrease fees, but the Public Utilities Commission has submitted legislation cutting the fee used to fund the 9-1-1 system.
PUC Chairman Tom Welch says the new computers used to operate the system will become cloud-based instead of relying on a lot of servers and interconnected cables.
“That reduces the cost of running the 9-1-1 system," Welch says, "so the bid that we got allows us to have a lower surcharge to cover the cost.”
Welch says the current 45-cent-a-month fee per phone will go down a nickel. He says that will be enough to pay for the state’s approximately $9 million share of the cost of operating the 9-1-1 emergency dispatch system.
Lawmakers will consider the bill in the January session.
