By omitting a requested 25-cent 911 surcharge increase from the state budget, lawmakers treated counties and their taxpayers as mere pawns in a political chess game.

It’s a classic example of Harrisburg politics, where leaders haven’t delivered a budget on time in the last five years.

Everybody involved there claims credit for balancing a state budget without a tax increase and leaves counties holding the bag for an unfunded mandate.

What counties sought wasn’t some sweeping, new program.

It was simply a request from the state county commissioners organization to help fix a growing deficit in the emergency response system.

It was an adjustment from a monthly bill surcharge from $1.95 to $2.20.

That works out to just $3 per year — the cost of a cup of convenience store coffee, or the current twofer McChicken sandwich promotion at the local McDonald’s.

Ignoring the request virtually guaranteed a shuffle of county tax resources to keep 911 centers staffed, radios working, and emergency responders dispatched.

In all, Harrisburg left an $80 million black hole of funding for emergency response centers.

Locally, Carbon County’s dispatch center runs on around $2.3 million a year. The current fee generates about $1.5 million of that money.

Commissioners are forced to come up with the balance.

For years, they’ve been pressing for more funding and have been joined in their fight by local municipalities over the years.

The shortfall isn’t happening because of waste.

Running the dispatch center requires maintaining complex lifesaving technology. It’s no longer just answering a phone call.

Today’s dispatchers use Next Generation 911 systems that map texts to real time data and help responders use satellite-based software to find lost hikers or accident victims on rural roads.

A shortage of qualified dispatchers combined with the effects of inflation have pushed the cost of helping someone higher, especially when those calls for help outpace state funding.

And when state funding isn’t enough, the county can’t just turn off the radios and the headsets. The calls must be answered.

The only place left for cash to keep the lights on comes from the county’s cash drawer.

That money, of course, comes from local county taxes.

While that’s going on, state lawmakers get to return to their districts and talk about how they did their part to get a budget.

Actually, they did nothing to save taxpayers a dime.

By not considering that 25-cent increase, they shifted the burden from a fee that anybody with a working phone pays to cash generated by property taxes from the county’s general fund.

Folks who are paying local property taxes are now stuck with the balance of a state-mandated emergency system since they’re legally required to operate 911 centers.

For seniors on fixed incomes, a property tax hike is far more punishing than a quarter per month phone fee.

Public safety shouldn’t be a pawn in a political chess game in Harrisburg.

Emergency dispatchers protect us every day.

It’s time for state lawmakers to see that shortchanging 911 centers isn’t the way to go.

Their decision sends a message about priorities. If they can’t find the political common ground to invest a quarter a month into systems that save lives, how do we judge their commitment to keeping the public safe?

What does it say to a dispatcher forced to work overtime to cover a short roster?

And how about the EMT who responds to a call knowing the nearest backup may not arrive?

Area residents deserve leaders willing to make practical, affordable decisions about investing in what protects them.

The counties’ request wasn’t for sweeping change. It wasn’t a radical proposal.

It was, though, a small sensible step toward helping to stabilize a system that benefits everyone but few think about until they need it.

Lawmakers can plot strategy all day, but emergencies don’t wait. When a call comes in, there’s no debate: someone needs help, and it’s time to make a move.

And the system either works, or it doesn’t.

When that time comes, winning or losing doesn’t matter.

They shouldn’t be able to put a price on life if it’s only $3.

And certainly not if it’s measured a quarter at a time.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 45 years’ experience in community journalism.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.