From the Le Mars Daily Sentinel.
As more and more people choose cellphones over landline telephones, Iowa counties’ E911 budgets are taking a financial hit.
Plymouth County currently receives a $1 monthly surcharge on landline telephones to help maintain its E911 services — it does not receive any money for cellphone usage.
“The amount of surcharge money the county is collecting to maintain these services is becoming smaller and smaller,” said Shawn Olson, Plymouth County E911 coordinator.
Since 2008, those dollars are down about $50,000, he said.
The county’s E911 or enhanced 911 system allows dispatchers to obtain the location of a caller using a landline telephone to make a 911 call.
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