The city is only about 20-30 minutes away from me.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/new...r-911-service/
http://www.venturacountystar.com/new...r-911-service/
Ventura OKs fee for 911 service
$1.49 to be added to telephone bills
By Kevin Clerici (Contact)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Seizing on a way to free up money to hire additional police officers and firefighters, Ventura will become the first city in Southern California to levy a monthly fee on telephone users for emergency 911 service.
The monthly $1.49 fee for "Emergency Services Access," approved by the City Council on Monday night, is scheduled to take effect May 1 and will be collected on all Ventura cellular and land-line telephone bills.
Critics say the fee is a tax in disguise and should be put to voters. Others argue the city should live within its existing $90 million annual operating budget.
With an estimated 158,000 eligible phone lines, city leaders say they will recoup $2 million to $2.5 million of the $3.3 million they currently pay annually for 911 services. That would free money to hire six police officers and three firefighters. Phone bills in Ventura will be a little bit higher, but response times to 911 calls ultimately will be quicker, city officials say.
"The bottom line is that this is a reasonable fee for an essential service that we need immediately," Mayor Christy Weir said.
Several Northern California cities charge monthly fees for 911 service, although some have been invalidated by judges who ruled they were essentially taxes that needed voter approval.
First of its kind in state
Ventura added a new wrinkle to strengthen its legal case: Residents can opt out of the monthly fee by agreeing to pay $50 any time they call 911 for a personal emergency.
That alternative — believed to be the first of its kind in the state — was designed for phone lines reserved for fax machines and high-speed Internet service, not primary telephones, officials said. But it will be open to anyone.
Skeptics cast the $50-per-call charge as a bad idea that will discourage people from reporting emergencies and create a regulatory nightmare to administer as city officials start reviewing individual 911 calls.
"There is a real possibility that it would repress calls for real emergencies," said Councilman Neal Andrews, who cast the lone no vote in Monday's 6-1 approval.
Andrews said a government fee by definition is charged for a service that is elective. "I do not regard 911 as an elective service," Andrews said. "This is a basic-level service that we should guarantee to every resident."
Stockton fee ruled invalid
A San Joaquin County Superior Court judge handed taxpayers a victory in June, ruling that Stockton's 911 fee was invalid. The judge said the fee had all the hallmarks of a tax. An Alameda County Superior Court ruling invalidated Union City's 911 telephone tax in April for similar reasons.
Stockton continues to collect its fee while the case is on appeal, Stockton City Attorney Ren Nosky said. "We have not conceded that our 911 fee is a tax," he said.
Nosky declined to comment on Ventura's per-call alternative but implied it was a good legal move. "I know Ventura is working with some smart people," he said.
Don Facciano, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Association, said the 911 phone fee should go to a citywide vote.
"This is a tax," Facciano told the council Monday night. "This was proposed initially as a tax. The Taxpayers Association opposes any tax that is disguised as a fee."
Ventura voters were asked to increase the local sales tax by a quarter-cent in a 2005 ballot measure aimed at generating money to hire 14 police officers and nine firefighters. About 62 percent voted yes, but the measure fell short of the needed two-thirds approval.
Resident Lisa Woodburn, a married mother of two teenagers, said the $1.49 fee might not sound like much, but the cost adds up quickly in a household with four cell phones and two land-lines.
The fee "would cost us about $90 a year," she said. She told the council that if adding safety personnel was so important, "you should allocate your existing funds accordingly."
The council defended its spending, pointing out that 52 percent of its $90 million budget already is committed to police and fire services. Ventura collects less in user fees than other cities in the county, and the California Constitution allows cities to impose cost-recovery fees for specific services without voter approval, officials said. "This city runs pretty lean," Weir said.
Whether other Ventura County cities will follow Ventura's lead remains to be seen.
No plans in Oxnard, Simi
Oxnard is not actively studying a 911 fee, nor is Simi Valley. "Our council has given us no such direction to look at this," Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell said.
Simi Valley spends $29 million on police services and has 125 sworn officers for a population of roughly 125,000, Assistant City Manager Laura Behjan said. Ventura spends $29.2 million and has 134 sworn officers for a population of 106,000, but has to respond to more 911 calls than Simi Valley, officials said.
City officials repeatedly emphasized the $50-per-call option was elective. Exemptions to the $50 fee will be granted for those witnessing a possible crime or reporting an emergency on behalf of someone else.
The charges could be appealed. The city would review individual 911 calls and have a "liberal policy" to exempt them from the $50 fee, officials said.
Low-income residents enrolled in the state's discount "LifeLine" service also will be exempt. Businesses will pay the monthly fee on up to three phone lines when using a multiple-line, or trunk-line, service. That will amount to about $4.47 a month.
Councilman Bill Fulton said he doesn't think many people will sign up for the $50 alternative. "The practical reality is that people will pay the monthly fee," he said.
Under the plan, residents will have 60 days after May 1 to sign up for the per-call option and can revert to the monthly fee at any time.
$1.49 to be added to telephone bills
By Kevin Clerici (Contact)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Seizing on a way to free up money to hire additional police officers and firefighters, Ventura will become the first city in Southern California to levy a monthly fee on telephone users for emergency 911 service.
The monthly $1.49 fee for "Emergency Services Access," approved by the City Council on Monday night, is scheduled to take effect May 1 and will be collected on all Ventura cellular and land-line telephone bills.
Critics say the fee is a tax in disguise and should be put to voters. Others argue the city should live within its existing $90 million annual operating budget.
With an estimated 158,000 eligible phone lines, city leaders say they will recoup $2 million to $2.5 million of the $3.3 million they currently pay annually for 911 services. That would free money to hire six police officers and three firefighters. Phone bills in Ventura will be a little bit higher, but response times to 911 calls ultimately will be quicker, city officials say.
"The bottom line is that this is a reasonable fee for an essential service that we need immediately," Mayor Christy Weir said.
Several Northern California cities charge monthly fees for 911 service, although some have been invalidated by judges who ruled they were essentially taxes that needed voter approval.
First of its kind in state
Ventura added a new wrinkle to strengthen its legal case: Residents can opt out of the monthly fee by agreeing to pay $50 any time they call 911 for a personal emergency.
That alternative — believed to be the first of its kind in the state — was designed for phone lines reserved for fax machines and high-speed Internet service, not primary telephones, officials said. But it will be open to anyone.
Skeptics cast the $50-per-call charge as a bad idea that will discourage people from reporting emergencies and create a regulatory nightmare to administer as city officials start reviewing individual 911 calls.
"There is a real possibility that it would repress calls for real emergencies," said Councilman Neal Andrews, who cast the lone no vote in Monday's 6-1 approval.
Andrews said a government fee by definition is charged for a service that is elective. "I do not regard 911 as an elective service," Andrews said. "This is a basic-level service that we should guarantee to every resident."
Stockton fee ruled invalid
A San Joaquin County Superior Court judge handed taxpayers a victory in June, ruling that Stockton's 911 fee was invalid. The judge said the fee had all the hallmarks of a tax. An Alameda County Superior Court ruling invalidated Union City's 911 telephone tax in April for similar reasons.
Stockton continues to collect its fee while the case is on appeal, Stockton City Attorney Ren Nosky said. "We have not conceded that our 911 fee is a tax," he said.
Nosky declined to comment on Ventura's per-call alternative but implied it was a good legal move. "I know Ventura is working with some smart people," he said.
Don Facciano, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Association, said the 911 phone fee should go to a citywide vote.
"This is a tax," Facciano told the council Monday night. "This was proposed initially as a tax. The Taxpayers Association opposes any tax that is disguised as a fee."
Ventura voters were asked to increase the local sales tax by a quarter-cent in a 2005 ballot measure aimed at generating money to hire 14 police officers and nine firefighters. About 62 percent voted yes, but the measure fell short of the needed two-thirds approval.
Resident Lisa Woodburn, a married mother of two teenagers, said the $1.49 fee might not sound like much, but the cost adds up quickly in a household with four cell phones and two land-lines.
The fee "would cost us about $90 a year," she said. She told the council that if adding safety personnel was so important, "you should allocate your existing funds accordingly."
The council defended its spending, pointing out that 52 percent of its $90 million budget already is committed to police and fire services. Ventura collects less in user fees than other cities in the county, and the California Constitution allows cities to impose cost-recovery fees for specific services without voter approval, officials said. "This city runs pretty lean," Weir said.
Whether other Ventura County cities will follow Ventura's lead remains to be seen.
No plans in Oxnard, Simi
Oxnard is not actively studying a 911 fee, nor is Simi Valley. "Our council has given us no such direction to look at this," Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell said.
Simi Valley spends $29 million on police services and has 125 sworn officers for a population of roughly 125,000, Assistant City Manager Laura Behjan said. Ventura spends $29.2 million and has 134 sworn officers for a population of 106,000, but has to respond to more 911 calls than Simi Valley, officials said.
City officials repeatedly emphasized the $50-per-call option was elective. Exemptions to the $50 fee will be granted for those witnessing a possible crime or reporting an emergency on behalf of someone else.
The charges could be appealed. The city would review individual 911 calls and have a "liberal policy" to exempt them from the $50 fee, officials said.
Low-income residents enrolled in the state's discount "LifeLine" service also will be exempt. Businesses will pay the monthly fee on up to three phone lines when using a multiple-line, or trunk-line, service. That will amount to about $4.47 a month.
Councilman Bill Fulton said he doesn't think many people will sign up for the $50 alternative. "The practical reality is that people will pay the monthly fee," he said.
Under the plan, residents will have 60 days after May 1 to sign up for the per-call option and can revert to the monthly fee at any time.
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