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Wyoming officials warn 9‑1‑1 surcharge is insufficient; propose interim study and funding options
Summary
State 9‑1‑1 coordinators, county dispatch chiefs and telecom providers told the committee that the current $0.75 per-line surcharge does not cover operating costs or migration to NextGen 9‑1‑1. Officials asked the committee to authorize stakeholder work and to return draft funding options at the next meeting.
Officials from the Wyoming Public Safety Communications Commission, Wyoming Department of Transportation, county dispatch centers and telecom providers told the interim committee the state’s 9‑1‑1 funding ceiling (currently $0.75 per phone line) is inadequate to maintain existing public-safety answering points (PSAPs) and to finance a statewide migration to NextGen 9‑1‑1.
Monty McClain, chairman of the Wyoming Public Safety Communications Commission and Park County PSAP manager, described technical and operational gaps between legacy 9‑1‑1 and the capabilities required by NextGen 9‑1‑1. He said many PSAPs already have equipment upgrades under way but cannot complete statewide integration without a network backbone and additional recurring funding.
Why it matters: Wyoming has 31 PSAPs serving a sparsely populated, geographically large state. Coordinators estimated a multi‑million‑dollar gap between current surcharge revenue and the funding needed to sustain operations and create a resilient, redundant statewide NextGen network. Committee members asked staff to convene a working group of providers, PSAP operators and state agencies and to return with…
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