Schuylkill County officials are projecting needing an increase of more than half a million dollars from their general fund to make up a projected 911 center shortfall due to decreased use of landline telephones.

"We're projecting $3.1 million that we'll have to pull into the general fund," said Commissioner Gary F. Hess after a public commissioners' workshop meeting Thursday.The 911 center's budget is about $5 million. Of that, the county anticipated contributing about half, or $2.5 million, for the center's operating budget.A $1 to $1.50 monthly tax on landline phones and a $1 tax on cell phones and voice-over IP phone services, plus a one-time tax on the purchase of disposable phones and phone cards via the 1990 Public Safety and Emergency Telephone Act, helps support 911 centers. The cell phone tax revenue goes to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and counties then apply for the money. Telephone companies send the landline tax revenue directly to the counties.But fewer people have landlines, and more are using the disposables, so there's less money coming into the fund.Four of 10 households now use only cell phones, twice the rate from five years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal."More and more is being put on the backs of the taxpayers, who already pay phone tax," Hess said after the meeting."The requirements of the new technology are such that the funding stream isn't covering the cost," said Commissioners Chairman Frank Staudenmeier. "That meant we needed to dip into property tax funding, and that's not where we were supposed to get this money from. Obviously, this needs to be addressed."Top priorityHe said the matter is expected to be discussed at a County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania conference later this month.The association has named 911 funding a top priority."While system demands for technology upgrades escalate, the number of wireline subscribers is well under half of its historic levels and continues to decline, and the number of wireless subscribers is beginning to plateau," CCAP said in its 2014 County Government Priorities newsletter, released in January."The bottom line for counties is a significant and growing backfill of local property tax dollars needed to keep 911 systems operational," the newsletter said. "The need to address the funding stream is immediate, and will reach crisis proportions if action is delayed past the June 30, 2014, expiration of the wireless telephone subscriber surcharge."Legislators in June extended the Emergency Telephone Act for a year to give themselves time to reconfigure the funding formula.Hess said he hopes lawmakers will consider the Act when they return to session in January.Schuylkill Emergency Management Agency director Scott Krater spoke with commissioners about the problem Thursday."It could bankrupt some counties," said Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr."Absolutely," Krater said.Compounding the shortfall is that PEMA changed the spending allocation rules midway through the county's fiscal year, Krater said. PEMA operates on a July 30 to June 31 fiscal year; the county uses the calendar year.Hess asked Krater if the shortfall was the reason for a $25,000 emergency center budget adjustment the commissioners approved at Thursday's meeting.Budget adjustments move money from various accounts within an agency. They do not mean additional money is given to that agency."I'm moving money around to cover those items that were eligible when we prepared the budget in 2014, and now they are not," Krater said. "They changed it midstream."Everyone affectedThe shortfall is one felt by every county in the state.In Carbon County, the drop in telephone tax revenue has officials worried."The numbers have been dwindling for us as well as all counties. The cell phone fees are not coming back to the counties like the land lines do," said Commissioners Chairman Wayne Nothstein.Carbon County also expects a significant shortfall in telephone tax revenues, he said."We had to cut some things out of the budget already. If we don't get it (the revenue), we don't do it. We've been promised by the state that we will have new legislation in place by June 30 (2015). If we don't, counties are going to be in serious financial straits," Nothstein said."In 2006, we were receiving approximately $620,000 from landline phones. In 2013 we received roughly $300,000," said Carbon Commissioner William O'Gurek. "But, we do our best to watch our budget and projects to keep our cost down."Carbon County Controller Robert Crampsie said landline revenue has decreased from $672,251 in 2004 to a budgeted amount of $380,700 for 2014."We did transfer $179,604 of 2014 general fund monies to the 911 fund for operational expenses, and will be budgeting a transfer amount for 2015. The 2015 budget is still being worked on, but I do have an estimated transfer amount of $250,000," he said.Monroe County does not own its 911 center. Instead, East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg do. The center is funded through assessments on municipalities for dispatch fees, based on the numbers of residents and other factors, with telephone taxes rounding out the revenue.The phone funding is not that much of an issue, said 911 center director Gary Hoffman."I think we've seen a 10 percent reduction in the number of landline telephones because of improved cell coverage. The revenue from cell and voice-over-internet doesn't make up the difference," he said.But Hoffman doesn't see the center increasing the assessments. In fact, they have stayed the same for the past five years, he said."Those telephone tariffs absolutely help us," Hoffman said. "But we watch expenses. We keep close track of them."He said the center is undergoing a $2.7 million upgrade for telephone and radio consoles."We budgeted for that for five years," he said.