Time to pay up

I am going to jump on an issue here that I have recently done stories on and that I have heard talked about for nearly a year (since my first Stoddard County 911 Board meeting).

I want to talk about the 911 services cell phone tax … or better yet, the lack of one thereof.

Stoddard County 911 Services Administrator Bill Pippins Jr. has talked about the rising need for a cell phone tax since I met him. He has pointed out that only TWO states in the entire nation don't have a cell phone tax for 911 services: Missouri and Wyoming.

Now, can you tell me why? I can tell you why. Because people expect to get something for nothing, that's why. Everybody today wants a free lunch.

This issue of a tax was put before the voters several years ago, according to Pippins, and was defeated. He said that he believed that if only those who owned cell phones were allowed to vote, it probably would have passed.

Bill, to put it nicely, you are probably giving those cell phone owners much more credit than they deserve.

Bill said that 911 services statewide had done a poor job in educating the public about the tax and what it would be used for.

Bill, I think that you probably explained it just fine and that everyone understood.

The problem, Bill, is that people just don't care. They blindly focus on not wanting to pay another tax. Never mind that the tax would only be 85 cents per line, per month.

An extra $10.20 a year would really break someone, wouldn't it? I can see how that would cause families to end up out on the street with nowhere to live.

(I hope at this point that my dear readers are picking up on the intense sarcasm.)

This same type of tax has already been applied to land-line phones and the world hasn't come to a complete standstill. In fact, I bet most of you don't even really notice the extra tax on your phone bill because it is so inconsequential.

As everyone knows, I'm not one for singling out a certain group and applying a tax to them. But, why should cell phone users be exempt from a tax that land-line users are paying for receiving the same services? Does that seem fair? It sure doesn't to me.

But then there are those who will say, but I have a land-line and a cell phone. If I already pay the tax on the land-line, why should I pay it on the cell phone?

Well, I would say that you use both phones, don't you? You expect to be able to dial 911 and receive prompt service and attention no matter which you call from, don't you?

Hello. This is earth. Is it really that hard to figure out?

The number of land-line phones are dwindling. More and more people are dropping the land-lines and just using the more convenient cell phone. As that happens, and as cell phones grow in popularity, more and more 911 calls are being made from cell phones.

In fact, last month, 37 percent of total calls made to Stoddard County 911 Services were made from cell phones. That is a large number of calls that 911 services aren't being compensated for. They still have to deliver the service, but they aren't getting paid.

A lot of people believe that 911 services receive tons of federal and state money, when in actuality, they don't. Besides apply for and hoping to receive what grants are available through a highly-selective and ferociously competitive process, the only money that 911 services receives comes from the land-line phone tax.

That's it. There is no other alternative for them. And as Stoddard County has seen a decrease in land-line phones and an increase in cell phone usage, they have begun to have to make budget cuts. Without the taxes from cell phones and based on the continued growth of cell phone usage, come next year, 911 services could really be in a bind.

So, Bill has traveled to Jefferson City and appealed to Gov. Matt Blunt. Bill, and other 911 service administrators around the state, are calling for emergency legislation from the governor which would allow the legislature to enact the tax without putting the issue to another comical vote.

And then enter the big cell phone companies like Cingular. They come in and say how it would be unfair and the technology isn't ready yet and several other weak excuses so that they don't lose any money out of their pockets.

But why doesn't somebody ask those same major cellular companies about the rumors in Illinois that a 911 service tax is being charged and collected on those phone bills, but isn't going to any 911 service in the state.

Hmm. That's a little fishy, isn't it? I wonder if that's what they're planning to do in our state.

Local lawmakers don't seem to have paid much attention to the situation with 911 services. For that, I don't blame them. I can imagine that with all the issues they have to face each day and keep track of, it's easy to let one or two issues slide through.

These lawmakers say that they believe it should be put back to a vote of the people. And I have a respect for both of these men when I say this -- when your job rests on being the winner of a popularity contest, you try to make everyone happy. I can understand that. But that isn't helping those who try to help us in our time of need.

I think it is time for SOMEONE in this state to stand up and defend those who are working behind the scenes to provide us with help when we are at our most desperate. It's time for 911 services to get the respect they are due by not only state leaders, but cell phone companies and private citizens alike.

How would you like it if you dialed 911 and no one answered? If things continue the way they are, that could very well be the situation in Missouri and we would have no one to blame but ourselves because we were too cheap to pay a tax of less than a dollar per month.

Or better yet, what if you called 911 services from your cell phone and they informed you that because you don't pay a tax like land-lines phones, they aren't going to take your call. How would that be? Just stop for a moment and imagine that scenario.

Don't like that picture? Good. Then realize that it's time to pay up and shut up.

Your life just may depend on it some day.

Sacha Champion may be reached via e-mail at schampion@dailystatesman.com