Thornton: State Grabs Majority Of Cell Phone Levy, Returns Little

CREST HAVEN – Like a redialed 911 call that went unanswered, that was how Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton felt again hearing that the state continues to collect vast sums from cell phone users, but directs little to mandated use: upgrade of 911 call centers. 
At the Sept. 27 freeholder meeting, Thornton, who attended a New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) meeting the prior evening, was refueled with ire. He pointed to the 90-cents per cell phone per month levied by the state which, by federal law, is to fund 911 center upgrades, such as the one the county is creating at the Lower Township Public Safety Building at the County Airport in Erma.
The state is taking but not giving much back to counties and municipalities, according to the Federal Communications Commission. The state has, since 2014, routinely diverted 89 percent ($106.7 million of the approximately $120 million collected annually) for purposes other than 911 use, Thornton said. Over $1 billion has been collected and diverted by the state since the trust fund’s establishment.
“Only 11 percent of that trust fund is spent on eligible expenses,” Thornton said.
“I can tell you; this is just outrageous…I am angry. We are building a new emergency management center and are mandated to update communications,” he added.
“We have been getting ripped off here,” he continued after he noted the county’s planned shift to a 700 MHz radio system to better serve all users with clear reception regardless of location.
“The FCC will not enforce the mandate of the congressional law,” he added.
To heighten Thornton’s frustration, he said the Legislature’s answer, via Assembly Bill A1821, would be to increase the tax by 10 percent to 99 cents per cell phone per month. “So they can take more. This is outrageous,” he said.
Wondering aloud, “I don’t know what you do,” he continued and said, “Somebody has to take them (the state government) to task.
“Let’s do another resolution and send it to all of them,” Thornton said, “What a swindle and a rip-off, that’s all it is.”
He pointed to the fact that he and Cape May County Emergency Management Coordinator Martin Pagliughi have been trying to get the state to free up the money for over a year and a half.
Thornton said he and Pagliughi met with representatives from the New Jersey Wireless Association. “They have been fighting, but they are not getting any support.”
While the FCC could enforce the rule, it has not done so, Thornton said.
The NJAC passed a resolution at its Sept. 26 meeting that urged the governor and Legislature to “properly allocated ‘911 System and Emergency Trust Fund Account (fund) monies to county and municipal 911 centers as required under federal law.”
It further stated that Public Safety Answering Points have come to “inequitably rely on the collection of local property taxpayer dollars to improve, operate, and maintain 911 systems.”
As the county prepares to enter the future with upgraded 911 equipment, it will replace the E911 system that was developed in the late 1960s to be used with landline telephones.
The county recently announced its 911 call center would be capable of accepting text messages for 911 services. That upgrade, known as the NextGen 911 takes advantage of modern wireless technology. It can accept text, pictures, and video in addition to voice communications.
Using this technology allows callers to alert the 911 center when it is impossible to make a voice call. It will also more accurately help to locate the caller, which uses global positional system features in a cell phone.
Each of the state’s 200 call centers will be required to implement that NextGen 911 system. It will mean a transition to an IP network technology. As that is done, according to the Wireless Association, “Most of the equipment and software in 911 centers will need replacement/upgrading.
“The state will build a new statewide IP network and data centers to support the new technology/systems. The 911 centers will need to connect to this new network.”
It is estimated that the cost to build the statewide network and to upgrade the 911 centers around the state would be $50 million. That price does not include monthly recurring network costs, recurring software licensing fees and training.
The Wireless Association urged next steps that include:
* State Legislature to implement 911 fees on prepaid wireless phones. That would add about $24 million annually in fees.
* Legislature passes legislation to address fund diversion.
* FCC to clarify Eligible and Ineligible uses of 911 fees.
* Sharing of Best Practices and cost efficiencies for NextGen911.
* Enforce mechanism of states not complying and repeat offenders to ensure proper use of funds collected under NET911 Act.
* NJAC and NJWA working together in Trenton.