Story Created:
Mar 9, 2010 at 11:31 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 9, 2010 at 11:31 PM CDT
MARSHALL COUNTY, KY -- Phaith Crider is willing to pay Uncle Sam, but paying for tax on a service she hasn't used is something she's isn't thrilled about.
"I think it's a little bit crazy, just a little bit off hand because we already pay for the landline 911," she said.
What Crider and many other cell phone users don't realize is that tax pays for emergency dispatch services.
"We're not an entity that makes money," said Marshall County 911 director Jeff Daniel. "We have to operate and we have to stay up with the time."
Daniel says as landlines become obsolete, more 911 calls are coming from cell phones.
"The kicker is, where we're getting a $1.50 a month on the landline surcharge that has been in place for 18 years, Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) only charges $.70 per month for cell phones."
Meaning some people are paying more for everyone's 911 service. It's something lawmakers want to change but at who's expense?
"An elderly person who decides to keep their landline and they pay $1.50 a month, a cell phone user ought to pay $1:50 a month for the same service," said Daniel.
It's an added expense even Phaith is willing to pay, knowing some day she may need that 911 operator.
"Taking that into consideration, I guess it's not too bad because we will need it and they need jobs. It's job security," said Crider.
