COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County 9-1-1 telephone surcharge is going up starting this summer after the increase was approved yesterday by County Commissioners. The boost from 31 cents a month to 42-cents a month, the maximum allowed, should begin showing up on your phone bills in July.
The hike is the first in many years and county officials say it’s needed for a long overdue upgrade in the operation of 9-1-1 communications. The additional $90,000 generated by the surcharge increase will also allow for the creation of an account to help reduce the burden of future expenses.
9-1-1 Board Chairperson, Coldwater Public Safety Director Mark Bartell, told commissioners the age of their equipment combined with the on-going rapid changes in technology mandate that they plan for an eventual overhaul of their entire system, which will cost several million dollars. County Commissioners approved spending $142,000 for the purchase of a new telephone system for 9-1-1 and the central dispatch administration.
The current system was purchased back in 1990 from GTE. Funding for the new system is contained the 9-1-1 operations budget.
