Federal legislation expired today that in Dec. 2004 promised to allocate up to $1.25 billion for local comm center 911 upgrades, but which never materialized. Instead, Congress appropriated just $41.3 million for local agencies to spend on Phase II or IP-based upgrades, less than four percent of the amount Congress intended. The bill was optimistically called the “ENHANCE 911 Act” when it was passed as agencies needed funding for Phase II upgrades. But every year after the bill was signed by President George W. Bush, none of the annual maximum of $250 million was ever appropriated by Congress, despite support by the E9-1-1 Caucus, public safety associations and local agencies. Finally, in 2007 Congress approved about $41 million, and just last week specific grant awards were announced. Lately, several members of Congress have drafted legislation to extend the original Act, but none of the proposals has been introduced in Congress. Now, because of other legislation and the Congressional schedule, it’s unlikely that an extension will be introduced or passed this year.
For the grants just issued, Texas, California, Florida and Pennsylvania received over 35 percent of the total of $41.3 million. The total amounts ranged from $5.39 million for Texas to just $200,000 for American Samoa. Puerto Rico received $500,000, more than each of the states of Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas.
The experience of Missouri provides insight into how the federal money was needed by local agencies, and how the federal grants were allocated.
NENA reports that Missouri is among the three states with the lowest rate of 911/E911 implementation, with 18 counties having no 911 service at all, and with only 68 of its 171 PSAPs having Enhanced 911 service. Wireless 911 calls continue to increase each year, but aging equipment at local agencies is up to six years-old, and cannot be upgraded to Phase II.
Perhaps most significantly, Missiouri is reportedly the only state in the union without a state-level service recovery fee.
The ENHANCE 911 Act gave Missouri $1.69 million, the seventh highest amount among the 30 states and territories who received funds, but disproportionate to the money the state needs. Just 19 Missouri county PSAPs received funding from the grants, ranging from $16,266 to $234,351. Ironically, many counties couldn’t apply for the federal grants, since the the federal program required 50 percent matching funds, which the counties didn’t have available.
In an example from another state, the city of Fort Scott (Kan., pop. 8,297) applied for $50,710 to upgrade its 911 system from Phase I to Phase II. Based on that amount, the Kansas allocation of $385,450 would fund upgrades at only eight agencies within the state, far fewer than need upgrades.
The $41.3 million in federal grant money is a fraction of the cost of 911 upgrades. For example, the city and county of Honolulu reported this month that it will cost $20 million to upgrade its 911 system for full Phase II and to accept text messages via 911. Earlier this year Washington state officials asked the legislation to increase 911 surcharges to generate an additional $22 million a year, all to fund a six-year 911 upgrade project, or $132 million in total. And lastly, the state of Wisconsin legislature approved a 911 surcharge increase last April that will raise $61 million for PSAP upgrades, 50 percent more than the entire federal grant.
Here are the grant recipients in order of their amount received:
- Texas – $5,390,760.71
- California – $4,346,352.77
- Florida – $2,669,728.30
- Pennsylvania – $2,478,157.16
- Minnesota – $1,744,926.44
- Michigan – $1,699,999.99
- Missouri – $1,694,889.24
- Indiana – $1,563,140.00
- Tennessee – $1,499,557.54
- Washington – $1,464,362.35
- Oklahoma – $1,396,871.63
- Iowa – $1,333,456.30
- Arizona – $1,250,725.39
- Kentucky – $1,165,593.68
- Massachusetts – $1,051,135.47
- Virginia – $1,000,000.00
- Maryland – $955,680.53
- Alabama – $950,000.00
- North Dakota – $912,722.58
- South Dakota – $910,365.39
- New Mexico – $888,893.68
- Montana – $871,597.80
- Connecticut – $792,125.65
- New Hampshire – $642,948.39
- Arkansas – $594,060.05
- Puerto Rico – $500,000.00
- Colorado – $487,500.00
- Nebraska – $484,000.00
- Kansas – $385,450.00
- American Samoa – $200,000.00
Total $41,325,001.04
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