LETTER: Request for 911 funding needs to be scaled back

This is a little information that the people of Flathead County need to know. It just amplifies on what the other letters to the editor on the 911 special district say.

The majority of non-emergency calls to the police and sheriff’s office are routed to the 911 center. If you find a lost bicycle on your property and call the sheriff’s office, that is essentially a 911 call. So how do I contact law enforcement when it is not an emergency? In the phone book there are quite a few numbers listed for assistance all depending on where you live. How about a “711” or “211” number for non-emergency first responders? We have 811 for U-Dig, 511 for road information and 411 for phone directory. When you make an emergency call or a non-emergency call, you will talk to the same person, but this will make the process more efficient.

After a tour of the Dispatch Center I was very impressed with the quality of the building, furnishings and equipment. The down side of this is after talking to a number of users of the system, I’ve been told that the prior system had better coverage than the new system. Not good for first responders. When asked about this problem, the 911 director responded that the users are trained very well on use of weapons and situations but not on the use of the communications equipment, implying they do not understand it. Another person that is very knowledgeable of the system said it is very complicated.

The current method of taxing is the third attempt at getting what the Dispatch Center wants. We are being told that this is the fairest method. However, a look at the facts seems to disprove this.

I talked to a storage owner that has 16 units and she is being taxed $1,000 per year, the same as a business 20 or 30 times the size. This unfairness will devalue the property and could put it out of business. This is one of many similar situations. A few people made a determation of how much each type of business will pay. Whitefish City Manager Chuck Stearns, who is on the 911 board, was quoted as saying, “Your right to 911 should not depend on how much property tax you pay.” What does that mean?

Money needs to be spent on the 911 center; it is important.

So business owners don’t get charged unfairly, a tax of $28 per residence ($28 times approximatly 41,646 = $1,166,088), and $150 per business ($150 times 2,722 = $408,300. This would total approximately $1,574,388. That is less than the $1.9 million they are requesting, but do we ever want to give government everything they want? Five hundred thousand a year for capital improvements seems like there might be some extras for something. Most of the present equipment is 4 1/2 years old.

As a taxpayer of a smaller older storage facility that has to pay $1,000 to call for law enforcement, I’m worried about this somewhat newer system of taxing with very little representation. Maybe next year a new tax for more jail space. It might be time to throw the tea into Flathead Lake. —Don Nelson, Kalispell