10.20.2009 2:45 pm
E911 tax should be a nonstarter
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Post-Dispatch recently endorsed the newly proposed and permanent St. Louis County tax designed to upgrade 911 and emergency communications systems. However, I’m wondering if these upgrades would not be better handled by Jefferson City on a state-wide basis.
Currently, Missourians are charged a 911 tax on their cell phone bills but none of the money collected by the cell phone companies is given to the state. Missouri in the ONLY state in the nation that does not collect the 911 tax from cell phone providers. Why is that? They must be really big campaign contributors.
Since 2003 the state of MIssouri has been given many millions of dollars in Interoperable Communications Grants from the federal Homeland Security Administration to update 911 and emergency communications systems within the state. How has this money been allocated and used?
Most emergency situations such as floods, storms, etc., usually effect more than one Missouri county. So how would upgrading only St. Louis County’s communications sytems help in coordinating with neighboring counties? It wouldn’t.
If we’re already paying a 911 tax and the state has been receiving millions in federal grants to upgrade emergency communications systems why does St. Louis County want to add yet another permanent tax which may possibly be wasted on nonrelated projects in the future? I’d say that this regressive tax is a nonstarter and not needed.
Ed Olsen
Affton
Take some of the $51 million a year St. Louis County residents
pay into the Zoo Museum District…a good chunk of it…for this
911 System.
Stop payment on the Ballpark and Dome Bonds…(several million a year
from taxes paid by guests in County hotels and motels) and apply
some of that money to the 911. An improved emergency system will
also help response to incidents in hotels and motels.
Stop sending Kitty Ratcliffe a million here and a million there..
from the same source to do re-runs of last year’s convention and
tourism ad campaign.
In other words the money is there..but in the wrong place.
Go into the wrong place, get the money and put it in the right place.
No way on this tax. Way too many unanswered questions.
If interoptability is important, where is the City of STL, St Chas, Jeffco?
Maybe this would be a good time to get rid of Beverly Hills PD, Calverton Park, Bel-Ridge, Bel-Nor, Uplands Park, Robertson Fire, etc etc.
Didn’t we spend a bunch of money on sirens with audio about 10 years ago?
Will money go to Elbert Walton at Normandy Fire?
Sales tax is not the way to do this.
Vote Dooley out!
Why are we voting for a cell tax we already pay it for how many years?
Mr. Magoo the Florissant Police chief will be in charge of the radio it is in his name with the FCC for the system.
As far as not being able to talk on the radio one of his dispatchers for 25 years was telling every onw that he can have the cars talk on the RIOT are any channel with 2 mouse clicks? Mr. Magoo must have taken a nap at the police station like he does every day while we pay his pay.
Question why did Charley D. get the money from the Obama people and extend the HWY to to casino if we need the tax? Why not use that money to do all of this for the whole region enstead of just make the HWy to a boat in plain words. Ask Bob Lowery he went to talkn to Charley and him and his aid a Florissant Police Officer Andy got kicked out of the County Office of Charley D. ? By the way that stopped the other Lowery from being St. Louis County Police Chief and we now have the new clown in charge.
ON ELECTION DAY THINK WITH YOU WALLET AND HEART IT IS YOUR TAX DOLLARS THEY WANT
A reminder you money is at stake today do want to pay 2 times for the same thing if so the vote for the E811 tax if you want to show Mr. Magoo and the others you have a brain and can see the crap they are trying to push over then VOTE NO
IT IS YOUR MONEY THINK FIRST THEN VOTE