As the Great Blizzard of 2010 blanketed New York City, most residents were blissfully unaware that their city's 911 system was on the brink of collapse. The system fielded 50,000 calls in a single day, and at one point the backlog swelled to 1,300 calls. The mayor was called to account for the slow service and promised that it wouldn't happen again.
But David Rosen and Bruce Kushnick report in AlterNet that New York's close call is an example of a much broader and deeper problem. Cash-strapped state and local governments are raiding funds set aside for 911 service, and the system is hurting badly:
Hundreds of millions of dollars are collected annually by states and localities to support 911 services and much of it is diverted to plug state budget holes and meet a host of other demands. Most disturbing, 911 services are technologically bankrupt, held together by duct-tape and workarounds.
States siphoned nearly $400 million earmarked for 911 between 2001 and 2004. The law demands that the money, raised by a tax on every phone line, has to be set aside for 911-related services. Some states fudge the definition of "911-related" to fund things that had nothing to do with emergency services, like raises for courthouse staffers. Others just brazenly redirected the money into their general funds. New York collected $82.1 million in 911 taxes on phone lines in 2007, but only 19 cents out of the $1.20 monthly fee was spent on 911.
1 comment:
THIS is a VERY good reason why we need not to PASS no more TAXES in Maryland ..road tax, gas tax. etc etc..as the money never stays in the budgets as they were meant to be used for and ends up being put into other needs and at the same time the main reason for the taxes go broke.
MIKE NO MORE NEW TAXES.
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