KANSAS CITY, Mo — A critical service is in need of critical funding in Clay County.
"89 percent of 911 calls in Clay County come from sources that do not fund 911," said Sarah Boyd, public relations manager for the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
Those sources mainly include landlines. The community heard last week what could happen if the county isn't able to come up with around $850,000 for its 911 system.
"History tells me that we have a real problem in public safety and government," Clay County Sheriff Will Akin said. "We have a real problem waiting until it hits the fan to take action. Unfortunately, when it hits the fan, means loss of life or something tragic happened."
This is on the ballot for voters on Tuesday, so KSHB 41 took the proposition straight to North Kansas City voters, who might be showing up at their YMCA polling location tomorrow.
"I was stuck in an area that was not Kansas City this summer, and we were stuck on the side of the highway for three hours, and there was no emergency services to tell us what was going on," a voter KSHB 41 spoke to said. "And I said, 'Wouldn't it be nice if we could get a cell phone ping telling us why we're sitting here for three hours?' It's funny, it's on the ballot in Kansas City."
Another voter said: "What could $1 hurt?"
Jacob Harper plans to cast his ballot. He wants the county to focus on improving the system, but not on his dollar
"Don't we already have money elsewhere to pay for this?" Harper said. "Why is this not something already budgeted? Why is this our problem?"
Akin said if the proposition fails, they'd have to sacrifice other areas in the county budget to pay the bills. The fee would replace the existing $1 fee on landlines, which has been around since 1993.
According to Clay County, this year, they will pay more than $1.1 million for their portion of the metro area’s regional emergency communications system, managed by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC).
The fees from landlines will cover only about $218,000. The county receives an additional $40,000 from state assistance.
The funding received from the fee will cover the existing costs of the 911 system and allow the implementation of next-generation 911 features.
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