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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Loretta Park
Standard-Examiner staff
S
ALT LAKE CITY -- Phone owners could see a tax cut -- albeit minor -- by July 1.
Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, is asking legislators to cut the 911 enhanced local fee of 65 cents to 61 cents and the state fee from 13 cents to 8 cents.
Even though the tax cut for an individual is just a few cents a month, overall it will cut several million dollars, Dee said.
A House committee approved the bill Wednesday. Dee said it is part of the House's leadership plan for tax cuts for Utah residents.
Dee sponsored a bill several years ago that allowed the fees for the enhanced 911 system. There is enough money in the state's account to finish building out the second phase of the 911 system.
Phase 1 of the enhanced 911 system allowed dispatchers to see the phone number and address of any land-line call that comes into the centers, Dee said.
Phase 2 of the system is giving the GPS location of cell phone calls that come into centers.
Gary Lancaster, chairman of the state's 911 committee, said there are several counties that have the second phase in place.
According to a map given to the House committee, Salt Lake City Police, Cache, Tooele, Wasatch, Carbon, Beaver and Iron counties have the second phase of the 911 system running.
Other areas are testing the system and should be operating in a few weeks. Those include Davis, Salt Lake, Duchesne, Uintah, Sanpete and Sevier counties.
Davis County Sheriff's Dispatch Manager Karen Wright said in a phone interview the second phase of the 911 system should be ready to go by the end of the month.
It gives the latitude and longitude of where a cell phone call is coming from, Wright said.
The system is helpful especially in rural areas where tourists may not know the area, Dee said.
Wright said it is also helpful for those who may be baby-sitting and not have access to a land line.
Other counties, including Box Elder, Weber, Morgan, Summit, and Utah, should receive grants before the end of the year to put the program in place, Lancaster said.
Lancaster said the state is working with the federal government to allow cell phone towers in areas such as Lake Powell, for emergency use.
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