2009-0092
INTRODUCED BY: TERRY AUTHEMENT, COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE, DIVISION B
RESOLUTION NO.
Title
A resolution requesting the St. Charles Parish Legislative Delegation draft and support local legislation relative to the St. Charles Parish Communications District to provide for the assessment of prepaid wireless telephone service.
Body
WHEREAS, the public has high expectations for effective and accessible 9-1-1 emergency services regardless of the communications technology used or the means of purchasing the technology; the funding of wireless 9-1-1 emergency services is critical to meeting the public's expectations for effective and accessible 9-1-1 services; and,
WHEREAS, the St. Charles Parish Communications District is dedicated to provide such a service for its citizenry and acquires the funding to do so solely by the assessment of a five percent (5%) tariff levied upon the basic phone service charge for both residential and commercial telephone subscribers per month and $0.85 per month on wireless phone subscribers whose billing address is within the Parish; and,
WHEREAS, the public has come to expect that their “telephone” will provide immediate access to emergency services by dialing “9-1-1”, that their call will be answered by local personnel who can dispatch first responders to the scene, and that their location and phone number will be provided automatically; and,
WHEREAS, the public does not expect any different level of service because the “telephone”, over which the call is made, uses technology other than the traditional wire line communications services; and,
WHEREAS, from the perspective of the 9-1-1 caller, all telephones are functionally equivalent, and the expectation is that the level of 9-1-1 service will be the same; and,
WHEREAS, due to the ever increasing demands placed on the E-911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) with the receiving of an overwhelming number of prepaid wireless emergency calls which can be problematic an...
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