State hikes 911 charge

FRAMINGHAM – If your phone bill recently increased, you’re not alone.

Officials overseeing the state’s 911 system recently hiked the monthly surcharge customers pay to fund the state’s emergency response system by 50 cents per month.

The change, which went into effect July 1, increases the monthly fee from 75 cents to $1.25. It affects both wireless customers and those with landlines. The new rate will remain in place until next July, when it will drop back down to $1 per month.

Officials say the increase is necessary to pay for an upgrade to the state’s 911 system, which is being overhauled to include new features, such as the ability for residents to contact emergency dispatchers by text message.

The “Next Generation” 911 system, expected to be in place by October 2016, will also allow residents to share photos and videos from the scene of an emergency, giving first responders an eye-witness look at the area.

“It gives you greater capabilities to handle or to receive a 911 call, and that’s why we’re moving that way, and basically the whole country is trying to move that way,” said Frank Pozniak, executive director of the State 911 Department.

The upgrade comes with a $56 million price tag. The state plans to replace the equipment at a pair of data centers and close to 250 public safety authorities that field 911 calls.

The state awarded a five-year contract to General Dynamics Information Technology to implement the system at an additional estimated cost of $25 million per year.

The surcharge on phone bills for 911 services remained unchanged for close to seven years after it was pegged at 75 cents by state law. The surcharge previously brought in about $74 million annually for the 911 Department, which does not receive any money in the state budget.

The increase is expected to deliver about $117 million to the 911 Department in the coming year – an increase of about $43 million.

Pozniak said the funding is necessary to upgrade the 911 system and also to support the 911 Department’s ongoing $42-million-per-year grant programs, which typically comprise its greatest expense.

In addition to paying for training programs, the grants help pay for capital costs at wireless communication hubs around the state and cover costs for local police departments to regionalize their services.

Expenditures will also increase in the coming months because the state must pay for two parallel 911 systems until the older system is taken offline. The existing “enhanced” 911 system, completed in early 2007, provides dispatchers with the phone number and location of each caller. Pozniak said the system is approaching the end of its useful life, and has some features that can no longer be upgraded.

Pozniak said he anticipates residents will support higher surcharges when they learn about the improvements coming for the state’s 911 service.

“You’re enhancing the situation for the citizens of the Commonwealth, and I think they get that,” Pozniak said. “I really do.”

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 617-863-7144 or jhaddadin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JimHaddadin.