911 24/7

Last one on 911 services for awhile, I promise. But the fine gentlemen at Missouri Political News Service, well aware of my recent obsession with the issue, alerted me to this story in the Kirksville Daily Express.  It seems that the local officials who run the area’s 911 service have taken a proposed tax increase off of the ballot precisely because they hope a tax is passed statewide and they can get their money that way, without taxing their own community! Just because you are paranoid does not mean someone isn’t out to get you. … From the article: 

That could turn voters off to the idea of another tax, but if the cell phone fee passes it could mean additional revenue for local 911 services, and could offset some of the difference needed to fund the E-911 service.

Now, I should clarify a few things here to give the full story. First of all, it is clear from the article that Adair County has current 911 service, which its citizens pay for, unlike some other rural counties that don’t have it at all and would now get it on everyone else’s cell bill dime. Second, they appear to have a countywide system, shared with the towns within the county, so if that’s correct, they deserve credit for it. But it does not appear from the article that the new money is needed for cell phone tracking, which is what I argued was a fair use of shared, statewide tax dollars. If their local system needs upgrades, the first option should be further consolidation with other counties, not hoping to get more money from the rest of the state.