Approval of the 911 sales tax on November 5 would allow Sterling to redirect money to modernize the fire fleet – Shaw Local

“911, what is your emergency?”

It’s the one call you never want to make and the one question you never want to answer. Every day, the Whiteside County 911 call center receives calls for help and coordinates and directs emergency personnel to respond when needed.

The 911 call center dispatchers, who have one of the most stressful jobs in the area, display a selflessness that is truly admirable. Every day they hear cries for help and respond with the grace and calm of an angel.

Being a 911 dispatcher requires extensive training and specialized equipment that costs a lot of money. Who pays for this extensive training and specialized equipment? This is what you do if you are a property owner.

Property owners pay for the 911 call center in Whiteside County. Every homeowner, business owner, farmer, fruit stand owner and nursery pays for this service. The people who don’t pay for it are the ones who don’t own property – visitors and travelers who stop for gas, something to eat and buy chips on the way to Mom in Iowa – because we have no way to share You share the cost of the 911 call center with the property owners who do this.

But on November 5th, you as a property owner have the opportunity to change that. You have the opportunity to ensure that every resident, visitor and traveler covers the cost of the 911 call center.

In 2017, Springfield passed an unfunded mandate that called for consolidating municipal 911 call centers into statewide systems throughout Illinois. Whiteside County recently completed this consolidation, locating its 911 call center at the sheriff’s office and courthouse in Morrison. The 911 call center serves 30 police, fire and ambulance districts in Whiteside County. With a staff of fewer than 24 dispatchers, the 911 call center relies on long hours and missed holidays, birthdays and anniversaries to serve the good people of Whiteside County 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

These dispatchers are answering the call to help others, and now we can help them.

Because there is no cost-sharing system, the 911 call center’s budget is underfunded by up to $500,000 annually. This is not a problem we can ignore. Cut the budget and spend less, they say. There’s nothing to cut. There is nothing to spend less on unless the county cuts services to fund the call center.

But which services do you think should be cut? Road repairs and flood protection? How about the sheriff’s office? That won’t happen because you won’t let it.

In order to make up the annual 911 call center deficit, the county will be forced to charge each community in Whiteside County an amount it deems fair and equitable. That means Morrison, Erie, Prophetstown, Albany and others will pay that bill and your property taxes will go up to pay that bill.

What about Sterling and Rock Falls? Currently, the two communities together pay a little more than $700,000 to the county for the 911 call center. Sterling pays more than $400,000 and Rock Falls pays more than $300,000 per year. Even that is less than half of a 911 call center’s annual budget. This funding issue is not just a financial issue; It is a concern that affects us all. The need to pass the public safety sales tax referendum and share the costs among all is critical to the City of Sterling’s ability to provide the Sterling Fire Department with the equipment needed to protect your families and yours Property required both in the city and in the event of a fire is District 1.

A recent news story from Shaw Local reported that the Sterling Fire Department’s vehicles were unreliable and in need of replacement. The city could use the $400,000 accrued to the county for the 911 call center to pay for vehicles the Sterling Fire Department needs — but that’s only possible if the public safety sales tax referendum passes on May 5 November is approved.

[ Unreliable and unrepaired: Sterling Fire Department apparatus report leaves City Council ‘shocked, ‘horrified’ ]

Rock Falls could use its $300,000 to fix the roads everyone is complaining about on Facebook. Any community that the county bills could use their $20,000, $50,000 or $100,000 for something other than paying for the 911 call center – things you as a property owner would like to see in your community. However, once again, this can only happen if the public safety sales tax referendum passes on November 5th.

Approval of the public safety sales tax referendum on Nov. 5 will help keep your property taxes lower and free up funds for fire engines and road repairs in Sterling and Rock Falls, as well as other things in other communities. And it ensures that everyone shares the cost of the 911 call center. If the test is not passed, your property taxes will increase, the Sterling Fire Department will still need new vehicles, and road repairs in Rock Falls will not be made.

The choice is yours, Mr. and Mrs. Owners. Make the right choice on November 5th. I know I will.

Jim Wise is a Sterling city councilman.