(Radio Iowa) – Organization that represent 9-1-1 systems in Iowa are urging Governor Reynolds to reject a proposed fee for distributing calls. The fee is included in a bill that passed the legislature just before it adjourned for the year. Representative Eric Gjerde, a Cedar Rapids policeman, says the proposed fee would be paid to the state by the boards that oversee the 110 public safety answering points in Iowa that answer 9-1-1 calls. “I think it’s ridiculous,” Gjerde said.

Gjerde says 9-1-1 systems do have money in their operating accounts to cover the new fee, but that money is for large projects that cost millions of dollars. “It might be a radio tower that needs to go up in a different part of the county to ensure that first responders can communicate with dispatchers,” Gjerde said. “…It might be the computer aided dispatching systems that give the first responders directions to your location and to your house when you are calling in an emergency to make sure that they can get there quickly.”

Gjerde was one of three House members who voted against the bill, which included a variety of other proposals. The Iowa Chapters of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the National Emergency Number Association have issued a joint statement calling on the governor to use her item veto authority and cancel the proposed fee.

The bill gives the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management authority to request 9-1-1 systems pay a reimbursement fee — but does not specify the amount. The bill requires payment of the fee within 30 days.