Jul 15, 2015 3 min read

Pennsylvanians’ phone bills will be going up Aug. 1 to pay for a shortfall in funding 911 emergency service, and commissioners in both Washington and Greene counties are poised to accept the fees generated from the additional surcharge.

The state Legislature sent to Gov. Tom Wolf a bill he signed recently dealing with what county 911 centers and county commissioners viewed as a pressing problem.

In December, the state Public Utility Commission approved a 911 renewal plan for Washington County that reauthorized the $1.25 surcharge per telephone line per month.

Washington County taxpayers, according to the 2015 budget, are expected to contribute $800,000 to the 911 system, an increase of 14.3 percent from 2014. The infusion of cash from taxpayers has fluctuated between $500,000 and $800,000 over the past decade because the amount of 911 funding from landline telephone surcharges steadily decreased.

In Greene County, which has a smaller population, the fee has been $1.50.

Now, the 911 Act sets a uniform fee of $1.65 for each cellular, land and Voice Over Internet Protocol account each month, according to Douglas E. Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

“To receive any funds under the new act the counties have to pass a resolution that they’re going to accept the fees generated from a 911 surcharge distributed by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency,” Hill said.

Under the law, Hill continued, 83 percent of the revenue from the surcharges is going to be distributed according to a formula for the first 18 months of the Act. The 911 board is going to be revising formula to take effect after that 18-month period.

In 2014, the surcharge generated about $190 million, and, according to CCAP’s figures, the first year of the new act is projected to raise $314 million.

In another matter related to phone communications, Washington County Purchasing Director Randy Vankirk told Washington County commissioners he’s recommending the county enter into an agreement for a feasibility study by Crown Castle USA to determine where communications towers on county land would help eliminate so-called “dead zones.”

This would include parks and fairgrounds. Mingo Creek County Park in Nottingham Township is notorious for poor to nonexistent phone signals, and Scott Fergus, director of administration, said vendors at the annual Covered Bridge Festival have complained that they are unable to receive telecommunication signals that enable them to process credit card transactions.

“This is going to help the fire service,” Commission Chairman Larry Maggi said at the commissioners’ agenda-setting session.

“It seems like a win-win situation,” said county solicitor J. Lynn DeHaven.

Vankirk said he discussed the issue with Allegheny County, which hopes to add a pine tree-like structure, rather than a traditional tower, that would blend in with surrounding trees.

Staff writer Bob Niedbala contributed to this story.