Franklin County officials warn of growing 9-1-1 funding shortfall, propose sales-tax option

Franklin County commissioners told a town-hall-style public meeting that the county faces a growing funding shortfall for 9-1-1 emergency services and discussed a potential quarter‑percent local sales-tax to replace diminishing landline revenues. Commissioners said the county currently relies on a per‑landline fee that has sharply declined as residents move from landlines to cell phones, leaving the 9-1-1 budget at risk.

Why it matters: 9-1-1 funding supports dispatch centers (PSAPs), equipment, and staffing that handle emergency calls. Commissioners said the shortfall could be more than $2 million and that current landline receipts have dropped from the mid six‑hundreds of thousands to roughly $300,000–$400,000 in the most recent year, creating an urgent budget gap for emergency…