7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
City Looks To Save 911 Jobs Under City Budget
The fact: the city of Galesburg just doesn't get as much money as it used to in one form of tax, and that's a great concern for the employees and equipment that tax pays for.

City Finance Director Gloria Osborn says the city wants to increase the a telecommunications infrastructure fee from two percent to five percent, as it starts to move the city's 911 dispatchers from being paid through the 911 tax, to the city's general fund.

Osborn says the city's Emergency Telephone Systems Board believes money coming into the 911 fund isn't what it used to be.

"They recieve revenue from the phone lines to pay for 911 operation," she said. "Unfortunately with the decline in landlines, they are seeing a decline in revenue, so they can't afford to pay for these 911 dispatchers."

While the 911 service covers all of Knox County, the City of Galesburg is the largest contributor of funds, followed by Knox County's dollars. No other individual cities in Knox County pay a separate 911 tax.

Osborn says the city is one of the lowest in terms of what is taxed under the telecommunications infrastructure fee among area communities surveyed, including Monmouth. Up to six percent can be taxed.
10 31 11 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.