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1. What are the responsibilities of Central Dispatch?

• Answer all emergency 9-1-1 calls and non-emergency calls for police, fire and medical requests for Clinton County.

• The Center currently supports 38 emergency response departments that includes law enforcement, fire departments and ambulance services.

• In addition to the emergency services, Central Dispatch also coordinates with the utility companies, DPW, Road Commission, wrecker services and several special response teams.

2. How is Central Dispatch funded?

Clinton County Central Dispatch is funded by the 9-1-1 Local Operational surcharge and the State E911 Surcharge.

3. Why a telephone surcharge?

• It is a fair and equitable way to share costs of maintaining the 9-1-1 operations by everyone within Clinton County.
• By law, the money collected via the 9-1-1 surcharge can only be used to fund the 9-1-1 Center for operations and equipment.
• The funds are used for the day to day operations, personnel, on-going maintenance and equipment replacement and upgrades.

4. How much more money will this cost me?

The current local surcharge for Clinton County residents is $2.25 per month, per device that is capable of reaching 9-1-1. We are asking for the surcharge to be increased to $2.75 per month, per device. The annual cost will increase from $27.00 per device to $33.00 per device.

5. Why isn’t $2.25 enough to cover the expenses?

Clinton County has experienced a 3.4% decline in revenue since 2012. This is a result of many households disconnecting landline phones and relying exclusively on cellular phones. According to an article from “Influence Central” dated April 15, 2016, 54% of Americans no longer have a landline at home, compared with 35% in 2012. View the Revenue & Expenditure Chart

6. What is some of the technology used to ensure 9-1-1 callers receive the help they need?

•Multiple map layers that includes aerial photography of the County •New Telephone system: oProvides GPS location information on cellular callers oAuto updates GPS location on cellular calls moving in vehicles oCapable of Text to 9-1-1 (coming in 2016) oCapable of future 9-1-1 technology such as video •Direct computerized dispatching with Eaton County Central Dispatch •Software based pre-arrival medical instructions •Multi-channeled Simulcast radio system •Mobile Data Computer system located in law enforcement cars with automatic vehicle locators •A shared system that collaborates with all law enforcement agencies, courts, jail, fire departments, medical first responders and ambulance services

7. What are some of the future Capital needs?

• Radio Communications transition to P25 Standards
• Future tower sites
• Replacement of mobile data computers
• Enhanced 9-1-1 Software
• Radio Console Upgrades

8. What is the call volume?

-2015
• Central Dispatch processed over 122,000 requests for service
• 32,714 Emergency 9-1-1 calls were answered
• 67% of all 9-1-1 calls received were from a cellular device. Calls from a cellular phone takes longer to process due to no physical address
• The in-car law enforcement computers accessed 911 over 250,000 times for law enforcement information queries and over 200,000 times to receive messages on dispatched events
• Clinton County has a population of 75,382

9. If approved by the Clinton County voters, when will the increase take effect?

The 9-1-1 Surcharge proposal will be on the August 2, 2016 ballot. The increase will not take effect until July 1, 2017 and is set to expire on the sunset date of the State 911 Law which is December 31, 2021.