Officials in Dauphin County are asking state lawmakers to change the way counties are reimbursed for 911 emergencies.
Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Piers and Emergency Management Agency Director Steve Libhart testified about a proposed 911 funding legislation. The two appeared at the Pennsylvania House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee hearing in Harrisburg. They want changes to a system they say is outdated. Officials say the switch from landline to wireless 911 calls is causing a shortage of county funds.
"Even while we have never increased our annual expenses, we have less and less revenue because landlines are going away." Libhart said. "That money comes directly to the counties and it's not a dollar for dollar match coming to the counties when you look at wireless and voice-over IP."
This year, county taxpayers will spend $2.3 million to subsidize 911. That's an almost 400,000 percent increase from the $600 the county spent in 2007.