What is the 911 Surcharge?

9-1-1 is funded primarily via a monthly surcharge on telephone customers.  This surcharge can be seen on any form of Telphone services., Wireline, Wireless, and VoIP providers

This fee provides funding for the operation of 911 emergency telecommunication services in our area. You can review a list of 911 fees by state here.

Who Collects the Fee?

You are not directly paying Calhoun County 9-1-1, but your individual service providers.  This is then remitted to the State of Alabama 9-1-1 Board. Alabama 911 Board then distributes to each Emergency Communications District in the state.

You can review more of the legislation and process here 

What is the funding used for?

The 911 Fees are used for multiple items including:

• Vendors / Services who provide equipment and technology to the 911 system. This can include mapping, call handling, data storage, and more
• Public education campaigns to bring awareness to the use of 911 and how we perform our operations
• Training and Courses for new 911 Telecommunications and to maintain the certifications of our existing staff. This can include crisis communications, Fire and Law Dispatch, Mental Health Awareness, and Leadership Training for Managers and Supervisors

We are responsible and held accountable for the use of public funding. As such we ensure to adhere to the state of Alabama Law and undergo State Audits to ensure those funds are properly used