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911 service fees to increase in Longmont

The fee is expected to increase by 50 cents per month
Macie May
Macie May
911 emergency

The Longmont City Council voted to move forward with a future ordinance that would increase the 911 service fees for the city by 50 cents per month.

Longmont is part of the Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority, or BRETSA. The authority was established in 1987 to oversee funding for the Emergency Call Centers in the county. There are three ECCs in the county located in Longmont, Boulder and Boulder County.

BRETSA allocates $1.7 million dollars of its budget to Longmont which covers technology upgrades and staffing costs. 

A year ago, BRETSA provided approximately $400,000 to the Longmont Call Center to expand its operational space and to upgrade its hardware, according to Zach Ardis, Public Safety chief in Longmont. 

On Tuesday, council members directed staff to draft an ordinance that will increase the 911 service fee on phone bills by 50 cents. 

This decision means that Longmont will remain part of BRETSA. Maintaining its membership in the authority provides Longmont with better 911 services. Ardis said the partnership is able to broker lower fees on software and hardware upgrades than the city would be able to do on its own. Also, should the city’s call center “go down,” Ardis said, the other regional call centers are ready to take over services until the issue is resolved. 

If Longmont decided not to approve the increase, it would need to find $2.4 million in its budget to exit BRETSA and an additional $1.7 million to maintain current operational support. Ardis added that at a point in the near future Longmont would need to increase the 911 service fee regardless to maintain the service level the city currently has. 

The 50-cent fee increase will assist with staffing costs and additional upgrades to the 911 system. The 911 service is undergoing an upgrade to further enhance its capabilities to locate callers, adopt text, photo and video communications with 911 and ensure calls are routed to the appropriate call center.  

The council voted unanimously, with Councilmember Shaquita Yarbrough absent, to bring an ordinance forward to remain in BRETSA and increase the 911 service fee. There is not a date set when the ordinance will appear before council or when the fee increase will begin.