The Eastern Sequoyah County 9-1-1 Regional Trust Authority is urging voters to approve a 50-cent increase on their cell phone bills during a special election set for Dec. 13.
Tony Lewis, Muldrow police chief and administrator of the 911 system, said the tariff will help both 9-1-1 systems in the county to buy new equipment that will allow the system to locate people who call 9-1-1 on their cell phones. He said there is currently no way of locating people who call from cell phones, and is nearly impossible without the new equipment.
Since more and more people are buying and using cell phones, both 9-1-1 systems in the county have seen a decrease in revenue, Lewis said. He said by voting for this measure, the 9-1-1 systems would be able to recoup some of the lost funding.
"This is a very important measure and if approved by voters, will greatly enhance the 9-1-1 systems' ability to respond to all calls for assistance," Lewis said.
