By Billy Wolfe
Charleston Daily Mail
KANAWHA COUNTY, W. Va. — Landline phone bills will be going up in Kanawha County, thanks to a 2-1 vote by the county commission Thursday.
Commissioners Dave Hardy and Kent Carper voted in favor of the increase, which will add 66 cents per month to residential landline phone bills and $1.06 per line to business landline phone bills.
Commissioner Hoppy Shores voted no on the proposal, which was drafted by certified public accountant Bill Chambers.
But commissioners were unanimous in their decision to draft a letter asking the 911 board of directors to stop giving across-the-board raises to employees.
911 Director Carolyn Charnock informed commissioners that the board gave employees a raise this fiscal year. At the same time, Chambers’ assessment of the 911 system’s finances has found that an additional $850,000 is needed this year alone just to maintain current operational levels.
Each of the 68 full-time employees of the 911 center received a 2.5 percent increase in wages this fiscal year, Charnock told reporters after the meeting.
Shores said he wants to support emergency workers but taxes and utilities are getting outrageously high for county residents.
“We might want steak, but we can only afford chicken,” he said. “We’ve got to pull the plug on these increases at some point.”
Chambers said the tax hike is needed because of a bevy of skyrocketing operational costs.
The cost of 911 employee pensions and retirement health care is expected to cost the 911 system an additional $185,000 to $200,000 this year alone. Inflation will add about $160,000 to the operating budget.
The system is also in need of a new $1 million computer automated dispatch system. Officials are pursuing grant funding for the new system, but regular operating funds will also likely be tapped for the purchase.
Although costs are going up, revenues from landline phone bills continue to shrink each year, Chambers said.
As more and more county residents opt for cell phones over landlines, the funding for 911 services continues to be squeezed.
Chambers said that the number of landline phone accounts is shrinking by about 4 percent each year.
“That is only going to accelerate in the future,” he said. “We’re in a tough spot, and it’s only going to get tougher.”
Cell phone bills will not be affected. The county commission has the authority to adjust rates only on landlines.
The state Legislature sets the rate for the 911 tax on cell phone bills. That rate is currently $3 per month
Hardy said Kanawha County was “pillaged” when state lawmakers decided to start reallocating a portion of cell phone revenues away from the county in 2005.
The decision resulted in about $1.5 million in revenues from cell phone users going to other counties this year, according to Chambers’ analysis.
Prior to the increase, residential landline users in Kanawha County were paying $3.34 per month for 911 services. Business customers paid $5.34 per month.
The rates will now go to $4 per month for residential landlines and $6.40 for business landlines.
Carper said he is also unhappy about the declining revenues. But he said the choice was simple: increase the rate or make cutbacks to emergency services.
“And I don’t hear small government protesters say anything when an ambulance arrives on the scene too fast,” he said.
“I accept responsibility for my vote, and I’m proud of it.”
No one spoke against the increase during Thursday’s public hearing. Carper and Hardy said they take that as a sign that people are happy with 911 services and want to see them maintained at current levels.
One written protest to the increase was received and filed.
Copyright 2011 Charleston Newspapers