Charles Wyckoff of Sequoyah County 9-1-1 asked county commissioners at their meeting Monday to support a vote on a cell-phone fee for 9-1-1 services.
Wyckoff said Sequoyah County 9-1-1 does not have the funds to advertise for voters' support.
The vote on the cell-phone fee, which, if approved, will be used to enhance emergency calls from cell phones, is slated for Dec. 13 in Sequoyah County and 24 other Oklahoma counties.
"We need to inform people about the vote," Wyckoff said. "We are asking you to help us inform people about how important it is to have this wireless fee."
Wyckoff pointed out that a caller using a cell phone, who may be injured or ill and in an emergency situation, must still have the ability to tell where he or she is located and the nature of the emergency.
Currently, the location of such cell phone calls can not be pinpointed, Wyckoff said. He pointed out that it takes 9-1-1 dispatchers three times longer to process wireless calls because of the lack of information that would normally accompany a landline 9-1-1 call.
If approved, the cell-phone fee will be used to upgrade or add equipment that can pinpoint the cell phone 9-1-1 call.
Wyckoff added that, on the average, about 1,000 Oklahomans a month are unplugging their landline phones to have cell-phone service instead. This not only makes it harder to locate callers in emergency situations, it also takes money from the landline 9-1-1 fee.
Wyckoff said that Sequoyah County 9-1-1 receives 15 percent of base telephone bills paid by residents of central and western Sequoyah County. The eastern portion of the county is covered by a separate 9-1-1 service, and those residents will also vote on the cell-phone fee Dec. 13.
Wyckoff said, "The fee generated from landline-based phones doesn't pay for all the expenses of the Western Sequoyah County 9-1-1 Call Center. Earnings are falling short of expenses by about $1,500 per month. We have the funds for equipment, but don't have the funds for salaries. This means we definitely don't have the funds to pay for the additional expense to implement the Enhanced Wireless 9-1-1 System...As more residents switch from their landline phones to wireless hones, monthly landline fees received have steadily declined."
If voters approve the 50-cent monthly cell-phone fee, the amount raised by the fee will be subtracted from the 15-percent landline fee if it is sufficient to cover costs, Wyckoff said. The 15-percent landline fee is to be reviewed by county commissioners yearly to determine if it is raising enough money for the service, and to adjust downward if the fee is bringing in more than is needed.
Wyckoff urged commissioners and those attending the meeting to visit with others and ask for support of the cell-phone fee vote on Dec. 13.
The commissioners approved a resolution to use steel plates to improve the McCoy Cemetery bridge near Evening Shade northwest of Marble City. The bridge is in Commissioner Steve Carter's District 2, and is not to be confused with the McCoy Ford Bridge north of Sallisaw, Cleon Harrell, District 3 Commissioner, said.
The commissioners approved the appointment of District 1 Commissioner Bruce Tabor of Muldrow to the Cookson Hills Community Action Board. Harrell was serving on the board but is resigning his elected commission post to take over as director of Cookson Hills Community Action and consequently must also resign from the community action board.
Harrell's resignation is effective Dec. 31. Gov. Brad Henry has 30 days after Harrell's effective resignation date to set an election date to fill the District 3 Commissioner's post. Kathy Webb, Sequoyah County Election Board secretary, said she expects the election will be in February.
The commissioners also approved the appointment of Albert Marquez of Vian to the Sequoyah County Criminal Justice Authority. Marquez will fill a vacancy left when the commissioners asked Joe Peters of Sallisaw to resign from the post. The county commissioners, Sheriff Johnny Philpot and one citizen, now Marquez, make up the authority which oversees the operations of the Sequoyah County Jail.
The commissioners accepted several applications for the job of custodian and yard maintenance at the courthouse. The past custodian, Larry Vinson, left the post to take a job with the City of Sallisaw. The commissioners said they will review the applications and perhaps make a decision at their next regular meeting at 9 a.m. Monday.
