County 9‑1‑1 budget shows revenue gap; dispatch officials recommend retaining 75¢ wireless surcharge cap

Fremont County dispatch staff told the commission that the 9‑1‑1 surcharge and user fees fund the dispatch enterprise, and that the proposed dispatch budget shows projected revenue of about $1,501,321 against expenditures of $1,846,739.

The dispatch presenter explained that the 9‑1‑1 wireless surcharge is set at 75¢ per device per month and described that amount as the statutory cap: “That is the cap, which is dictated by state statute, for all wireless, devices. That's 75¢ per month,” the presenter said. The presenter said the revenue estimate for the coming year includes the surcharge, external dispatch user fees (estimated $662,469) and internal user fees from the sheriff and coroner (estimated $396,962).

Expenditures in the proposed dispatch budget include a roughly $118,066 increase tied to salary/SOC adjustments adopted earlier; the presenter said operating expenses were reduced but the net enterprise budget still rose because of personnel cost changes.

The presenter told commissioners that dispatch cost allocations and a rate matrix were discussed with partner agencies and are billable, and urged the commission to retain the 75¢ surcharge in order to stabilize dispatch funding. The presenter also said there is pending statewide discussion about increasing the cap (informal estimates mentioned in the meeting ranged higher), but no change has been enacted.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about specific line items and the presenter agreed to provide follow‑up documentation and to coordinate with the clerk and finance staff for final figures prior to budget adoption.