Montana's 'Stranded' 911 funds are an attractive target in slim budget times
HELENA — When you go looking for money to fill holes in the state budget, $12.2 million just sitting around collecting dust looks pretty good.
The money is in a “stranded fund” and represents part of a $1 surcharge on every Montanans’ cell and landline phone bills. It’s been stuck, mostly untouched, since 2007, which is why this year Gov. Steve Bullock is proposing to sweep the money into the state’s general fund.
The only problem? A big group of stakeholders has been working for nearly a year and a half carefully navigating differing interests to come up with a well-negotiated compromise on how to spend that money on what it was intended for — enhancing the state’s 911 system.
“If that money were to be swept, the ability for the state to upgrade its current 911 network to a next-generation capability would go away,” said Geoff Feiss, general manager of the Montana Telecommunications Association, which represents rural phone providers. He led the group of stakeholders, which included cities, counties, 911 call centers, law enforcement and landline and cellphone providers.
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/government-and-politics/stranded-funds-are-an-attractive-target-in-slim-budget-times/article_a5a3ad9e-920d-541b-87cb-8db07e828013.html
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