Sheriff outlines voter-driven plan to raise e911 surcharge to shore up Metro dispatch and embed social workers

The Washtenaw County sheriff's office presented an overview of the county's emergency 9-1-1 funding structure and a potential voter-driven surcharge increase to cover a long-standing funding gap in Metro dispatch. Sheriff Alicia Dyer said the county's current local surcharge, grandfathered at 43¢ per device, brings in roughly $1.8 million and that Metro dispatch's 2025 operating budget is about $6.7 million.

Using modeling provided to the board, the sheriff's office said a $2-per-line increase could generate about $8.3 million countywide, with roughly $7.4 million allocated to Metro dispatch, and that a $2.50 or $3.00 figure would produce larger amounts (the $3 limit is the statutory state cap). "At around $2 to $2.50, I feel like we would have enough revenue to cover much of 911 across Washtenaw County," the sheriff said, adding that revenue is legally restricted to dispatch-related uses.

Dyer outlined allowable uses under Michigan's Emergency 9-1-1 Service Enabling Act (the enabling statute is set to sunset in 2027 but is typically reenacted) and emphasized options such as funding for dispatcher staffing and retention, interoperability, language-access technology and embedding social workers to triage mental-health calls at the PSAP. She described a six-step process for placing a surcharge question before voters, including public education and ETDB (Emergency Telephone District Board) public hearings; revenue would be collected after provider notification (often effective the following July 1).

Commissioners asked how municipal dispatch contracts would be affected. The sheriff said that if surcharge revenue covered dispatch operating needs, local municipalities could see reduced or eliminated contract payments to the county and that the county could then fund dispatch centrally. "If it did go on the ballot and voters did approve that...we would not need dispatch contracts," Dyer said, while noting the final rate and ETDB recommendations would determine outcomes.

Questions also covered equity of allocation methods and operational detail. Lee, the dispatch operations manager, said current cost shares are population-based (not call-volume-based) and that call mapping and device counts could be supplied to commissioners for further study. Commissioners stressed neutrality during public education and noted a tight timeline if the board wants a measure on the November ballot: a first reading or an August single-reading schedule was discussed to meet administrative deadlines.

No formal action was taken at the working session; several commissioners signaled openness to advancing outreach and further study before deciding whether to place a surcharge question before voters.