Officials for Madison County’s three governments are deciding how to fund the county’s 9-1-1 dispatch center. Like many Kentucky counties, Madison faces declining landline phone tax revenue that helps fund 9-1-1 systems statewide. Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor said the county and cities of Berea and Richmond will forge their own funding paths.
“We are moving away from it being on one bill for all three jurisdictions. What we're looking at now is each jurisdiction would be responsible for the portion of 911 which is use, called data use in each jurisdiction.”
Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley said Madison County faces a unique challenge.
“The CSEPP funding for the Blue Grass Army Depot, that money was federal money that came into the county and had been used to help offset the costs of our 911 system, and that money goes away in September of this year because the chemical weapons stockpile has been effectively destroyed.”
Taylor said the county has another depot-related problem: the eventual loss of more than $1.1 million in annual payroll tax revenue. He said one 911 funding source the fiscal court is considering is an add-on to water bills.
“It would be taking it from what many, some people still have on their phone bill and just replacing it on a water bill. We are looking into that right now. There are no decisions made on that.”
Taylor and Fraley say they, and Richmond leaders, agree that based on the most recent 911 call volume, Berea will pay 20 percent, the county 24 and Richmond 56 percent. How they get there is up to each government.
