§ 20-98. Enhanced emergency telephone surcharge.

(a)

Initial imposition; reduction of surcharge. There is hereby imposed and levied by the county upon every purchaser of local telephone service a surcharge in the amount of one dollar ($1.00) per month for a period of seventy-nine (79) months. This surcharge shall be paid by the purchaser to the seller of local telephone service for the use of the county to pay the initial capital, installation and maintenance costs of its E-911 system. When the total initial capital and installation costs are paid at the end of the seventy-nine (79) months, the surcharge shall be increased from one dollar and eighty cents ($1.80) per month to three dollars ($3.00) per month and it will be used exclusively to pay the reoccurring maintenance and operating costs of the E-911 system. The county treasurer shall notify the seller of the date on which the surcharge is to be increased under this section. This notification will be sent by certified mail to the registered agent of the seller sixty (60) days in advance of the date on which the surcharge is to be increased.

(b)

Collection, report. It shall be the duty of every seller in acting as surcharge collecting medium or agency for the county to collect from the purchaser for the use of the county the surcharge hereby imposed and levied at the time of collecting the purchase price charged therefor, and the surcharge collected during each calendar month shall be reported by each seller to the treasurer of the county on or before the last day of the calendar month thereafter, together with the name and address of any purchaser who has refused to pay his surcharge. The required report shall be in the form prescribed by the treasurer of the county. The surcharge levied or imposed under this section with respect to the purchase of local telephone service shall be applicable to charges first appearing on bills rendered for service provided after March 1, 1989.

(c)

Power and duty of county treasurer. The county treasurer shall be charged with the power and the duty of collecting the surcharge levied and imposed hereunder and shall cause the same to be paid into the general treasury of the county.

(d)

Records. Each and every seller shall keep complete records showing all purchases in the county, which records shall show the price charged against each purchaser with respect to purchase, the date thereof, the date of payment thereof, and the amount of surcharge imposed hereunder, and such records shall be kept open for inspection by the duly authorized agents of the county at reasonable times and duly authorized agents of the county shall have the right, power and authority to make transcripts thereof during such times as they may desire.

(e)

Periodic collection. In all cases where the seller collects the price of utility services periodically, the surcharge hereby imposed and levied may be computed on the aggregate amount of purchases during such period; provided, that the amount of the surcharge to be collected shall be the nearest whole cent to the amount computed.

(f)

Exemption for political subdivisions. The United States of America, the state and the political subdivisions, boards, commissions, and authorities thereof are hereby exempt from the payment of the surcharge imposed and levied by this section.

(g)

Violations; penalty. Any purchaser failing, refusing or neglecting to pay the surcharge hereby imposed or levied, and any seller violating the provisions hereof, and any officer, agent or employee of any seller violating the provisions hereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction therefor, shall be subject to a fine of not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00). Such conviction shall not relieve any such person from the payment of the surcharge. Each failure, refusal, neglect or violation and each day's continuance thereof will constitute a separate offense.

(h)

Definitions. The following words and phrases, when used in this section, shall, for the purposes of this section, have the following respective meanings, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1)

E-911 system means a telephone service which utilizes a computerized system to automatically route emergency telephone calls placed by dialing the digits "911" to the proper public safety answering point serving the jurisdiction from which the emergency telephone call was placed. An E-911 system includes selective routing of telephone calls, automatic telephone number identification, and automatic location identification performed by computers and other ancillary control center communications equipment.

(2)

Public safety answering point means a communications facility operated on a twenty-four-hour basis which first receives E-911 calls from persons in an E-911 service area and which may, as appropriate, directly dispatch public safety services or extend, transfer or relay E-911 calls to appropriate public safety agencies.

(3)

Public safety agency means a functional division of a public agency which provides firefighting, police, medical or other emergency services or a private entity which provides such services on a voluntary basis.

(4)

Local telephone service shall mean switched local exchange access service.

(i)

Applicability of section. The provisions of this section shall not apply within the limits of any incorporated town located within the county unless an agreement between the town and the county exists authorizing the county to provide such services and levy and collect such surcharge, and such town does not levy a surcharge now or in the future in addition to the surcharge levied by the county for the same purpose as applicable under state statues.

(j)

Compensation for collection and remittance. Whenever the surcharge levied by this section is collected by the seller acting as a surcharge-collecting medium or agency for the county in accordance with paragraph (b), such seller shall be allowed as compensation for the collection and remittance of this surcharge three (3) percent of the amount of the surcharge due and accounted for. The seller shall deduct this compensation from the payments made to the county treasurer in accordance with paragraph (b).

(Ord. of 2-20-89; Res. No. 18-01-94, 1-18-94; Amend. of 4-29-02; Ord. of 6-21-05)

(Ord. of 2-20-89; Res. No. 18-01-94, 1-18-94; Amend. of 4-29-02; Ord. of 6-21-05)