KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Voters in Kalamazoo County may be asked next May to increase surcharge fees on phones to fund consolidated dispatch in Kalamazoo, taking the burden off local municipalities.
Any phone line that could be used to call 911 would be subject to the surcharge.
Consolidated Dispatch Authority Director Jeff Troyer said they looked at a millage, municipal subsidies, which are the current source of funding for the five individual dispatch operations, and the line fee and decided the surcharge would be the fairest user fee.
So what happens to the money the municipalities will be saving by not funding 911? Troyer said every jusrisdiction will have to be able to answer that question.
They have not yet announced how much of a surcharge they will be seeking.
The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners will be asked in a few weeks to approve putting the question on the ballot.
