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September 08, 2009
E911 Hosted Solutions Q&A: Ceasing E911 Fund Raiding
By Amy Tierney, TMCnet Web Editor
It’s tempting these days in a down economy to want to search for cost savings wherever possible. But some states, of late, seem to be taking that notion to the extreme. As the economic woes continue, more and more states are tapping into the funds that support enhanced 911, or so-called “E911,” the technology that uses location-based services to pinpoint distressed callers when they contact emergency services providers.
And one industry expert with a national organization that represents the emergency communications industry to develop emergency technology infrastructure and policy, is calling for a cease on E911 fund raiding.
Paul Fahey, who was recently named executive director of the 9-1-1 Industry Alliance, is working to maintain a serious focus on the current and future funding needs of the 911 community and ensure that members are adequately represented. Fahey, the former director of external affairs for PlantCML, a major company in the 911 industry, and former director of Massachusetts State 911 Department, said the fund raids can cause a number of short- and long-term problems, primarily hampering efforts to build next generation 911 systems.
TMCnet had a chance to put some questions to Fahey. In an interview, printed in full below, Fahey talked to us about 9-1-1 Industry Alliance’s mission and how the raiding of E911 funds, could impact the operation of 911 centers.
Our exchange follows.
TMCnet: With E911 funding playing an increasingly critical role today to help ensure the safety and well-being of citizens, the economic recession has more than likely impacted several E911 projects. Where does the money come from for E911 funds? How are E911 funds most used today?
Paul Fahey (pictured left): The vast majority of existing 911 funds are collected at the state and local level as monthly surcharges on landline, mobile, and Voice over Internet Protocol phones. These funds are used to purchase and maintain the 911 systems necessary to receive Enhanced 911 (voice and caller location) and, in many cases, to support the operations of the 911 call centers known as Public Safety Answering Points, or PSAPs.
TMCnet: There’s a lot in the news concerning E911, particularly about states enacting their own E911 laws. What are some of the goals of the 9-1-1 Industry Alliance?
PF: The 9-1-1 Industry Alliance ("9IA") was established in December 2005 by a group of prominent leaders within the public safety industry. The vision of the organization's founders is that 9IA will play an important role as the voice of industry companies on major public policy issues, and that the expertise of industry leaders can assist public policymakers and government emergency communications
professionals in making complex choices regarding advanced 911 alternatives in the years ahead
TMCnet: How is the Alliance helping ensure that there is adequate funding of E911 services? What are some of the challenges the organization faces?
PF: Protecting and enhancing 911 funding has been the top priority of 9IA since its founding in 2005. In 2007, we commissioned a major report on the health of the 911 emergency network in the U.S. The report was released in 2008 and has served as the basis of 9IA’s policy advocacy since. It concluded that: consumer technology has surpassed that of the 911 system; 911 funding is collected from consumers for 911 purposes yet too often diverted to other general purpose uses by the government; the sufficiency of today’s 911 funding models is uncertain despite heightened public need for more advanced 911 capabilities, and state leadership in legislating, budgeting, planning and building a Next Generation network is required.
TMCnet: It appears E911 budgets are becoming a ‘goldmine,’ of sorts, for officials from financially-stretched states to tap to make ends meet. How many states, to your knowledge, are involved in the fund raiding?
PF: We know, as most recently reported by AP, that more than $200 million collected from 911 surcharges across the U.S. has been diverted from its promised use in a number of states, including Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
TMCnet: What is the fallout? How could the raided funds impact future projects?
PF: There are a number of serious short- and long-term problems associated with these fund raids. First and foremost, these surcharge funds are collected for a particular purpose – to fund the state 911 program. Raiding these funds, whether legal or not, or even for other important priorities, is a violation of the trust between the state government and its citizens.
In practical terms, these funds raids will affect the ability of PSAPs to maintain adequate staff and fully operational 911 systems to receive emergency calls with proper location of the caller. Just as importantly, many states were planning to use these funds to build Next Generation 911 systems to address the technology gap between consumer expectations and public safety capabilities.
TMCnet: How is the 9-1-1 Industry Alliance spreading the word about the problem? What solutions can be implemented to prevent the raiding?
PF: The 9IA, which has over two dozen members representing all aspects of the 911 industry, is working in coalition with public safety emergency communications organizations, both on the public sector (APCO, NENA, NASNA) and commercial (CTIA (News - Alert)) sides of the aisle, to bring more public attention to the dangerous practice of 9-1-1 fund raids. The 9IA relies on a broad coalition of companies in the 9-1-1 industry, such as 911 ETC, (an Everett, Wash.-based E911 hosted solutions provider) to speak as the voice of the 911 commercial sector.
As a strong and broad coalition, we need to demand that state governors and legislatures “Keep the Promise” and stop further raids of these funds. Our initiative on fund raids is new and will be developed this fall in response to the raids that already took place, as well as targeting states that may be considering future raids.
For more, check out the E911 Hosted Solutions channel on TMCnet.
Amy Tierney is a Web editor for TMCnet, covering unified communications, telepresence, IP communications industry trends and mobile technologies. To read more of Amy's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Amy Tierney
