Grand Traverse County voters may decide 911 surcharge increase

Grand Traverse County commissioners voted Tuesday to ask voters to raise the local 911 surcharge from $2.50 to $3.00 a month, a 50-cent increase on landlines and cellphones. The money pays for Grand Traverse County 911 Central Dispatch, the system that connects residents to fire, medical and law enforcement help, and the extra revenue is needed as radio replacement costs rise and Project Alpha moves ahead.

A 2008 filing with the Michigan Public Service Commission showed the county had been collecting an 80-cent charge since 2001, but revenue from the landline fee had been steadily declining and covered only 34% of the operational budget in 2007. The filing projected another $258,465 a year under the state formula.

In March 2020, Grand Traverse County 911 Central Dispatch sought voter approval to lift the surcharge from $1.85 to $2.50. Jason Torrey, then the 911 director, presented the recommendation to county commissioners and said the higher fee would help with improved service coverage, equipment maintenance and replacement, staffing increases and a possible future office move.

Commissioners unanimously approved a $27,795,000 guaranteed maximum price in March for a new 911 center and emergency operations building. In February, the county moved forward with a roughly $26 million campus on LaFranier Road that would house emergency operations, 911/Central Dispatch, and centralized storage and operations.

The surcharge applies to all landlines and cellphones and covers Central Dispatch and 911’s entire operating budget, serving all fire and emergency medical services, law enforcement and the city of Traverse City.

If voters reject it, the county would keep the surcharge at $2.50 while trying to fund a growing dispatch system, a new emergency operations building and a revenue stream that has flattened.