By Keith Purtell
Phoenix Staff Writer
November 05, 2008 01:58 am
—
Muskogee County has made a big jump forward in emergency response technology, said proponents of 911 upgrades.
Tuesday, voters approved two 911 issues:
• To increase the monthly subscriber fee on each land line connection from 5 percent to 15 percent. It received 13,446 votes at 54.41 percent.
• To assess a 50-cent fee for cellular telephones with local access numbers. It received 15,787 votes at 63.68 percent.
County Commissioner Dexter Payne said he was elated.
“The citizens of Muskogee and Muskogee County really did themselves a big favor,” he said. “This will greatly speed the reaction time of emergency responders.”
Payne said the 911 system is in dangerously obsolete condition. Cell phone users have been at a disadvantage because their location is not automatically shown.
“Right now, outside Muskogee city limits, you have no 911 at all,” he said. “And, for years, cell phone users couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just call and get full 911 service.”
The added fees were not enough to deter voters, Payne said.
Muskogee Fire Chief Derek Tatum said the voters have handed the county something desperately needed.
“Two-thirds of Muskogee County does not have any kind of 911 service,” he said. “And there is none for wireless customers. This will put us right on the cutting edge if not ahead of the counties around us.”
Tatum said the clock is already ticking on installation of a new 911 system.
“We’ve got to have the system up and running within two years of collecting the fees,” he said.
Tatum said all cell phones now have Global Positioning System chips that give latitude and longitude, which will allow 911 operators to immediately locate a caller when the new system is completed. So far, cell phone callers have had to give their location verbally, assuming they were able.
Brian Coffey, 34, a machine operator, said he voted yes for 911 improvements after he did a quick read of the ballot.
“It’s something we need to do,” Coffey said. “It seems like 90 percent of people go with cell phones any more. My wife and I both have cell phones; we don’t even have a land line.”
Banker Sheri Greene, 38, said the expected extra fee each month had her full support.
“I voted yes for the charge on my wireless, because I do not have a land line,” she said. “It is important to me, since I live by myself. I think it’s important that we have the 911 accessibility. I didn’t have to consider it; that was my first thought, because 911 is a wonderful thing. My safety is worth a little bit more to me than 50 cents a month.”
And equipment operator Don Cubit, 41, said he has used 911 once and voted for the proposed upgrades.
“I think it’s very important,” he said. “I had to use 911 once when my mother went into a diabetic coma. They responded pretty good; everything went well. One of the reasons I called them was that she had an alarm on her house and wanted to tell them in advance that I was going to have to kick down the door. That was about two years ago.
“Anything that can help with 911 process is very necessary. You never know when you’re going to need help.”
Reach Keith Purtell at 918-684-2925 or Click Here to Send Email
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