[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish voters shoot down change in 911 fee structure

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish voters shoot down change in 911 fee structure
 By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on November 06, 2012 at 9:44 PM, updated November 06, 2012 at 10:22 PM Email

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St. Bernard Parish voters Tuesday shot down a proposal to amend the way the
parish collects money from taxpayers for its 911 emergency service. Voters
declined a referendum to impose a fee of $1 per month for each residential
land line, $2.07 per month for each commercial land line, and $1.26 per
month for each cellular or wireless line.

The new fees would have replaced the existing fee structure, which is 3
percent of monthly and commercial telephone bills and 85 cents per month on
cell phone bills. Parish officials said the new fee structure would bring in
around $550,000 annually, almost $200,000 more per year than the current fee
structure.

In May, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law Senate Bill 630, introduced by
Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, that allowed St. Bernard voters to raise
the fees charged for monthly 911 emergency telephone service.