911 cell phone callers have issues

Fifteen counties across New York still do not have enhanced wireless 911 (E911) systems that allow emergency call centers to pinpoint the location of cell phone callers, despite the fact that State funding to support the enhanced service has been available for nearly four years, according to an audit issued recently by State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi.

Auditors found that the New York State Department of State (DOS) - which is responsible for overseeing and facilitating the implementation of E911 systems - did not effectively track counties’ progress, did not provide needed assistance to the counties, and did not ensure that more than $148 million in State funding for E911 systems was directed to the counties that needed it and used for the purposes for which it was intended. As a result, despite obvious need, only $60 million (40 percent) of the funds were spent.

“Counties across New York State have made significant progress toward putting E911 systems in place, but this progress was made in spite of the Department of State rather than as a result of oversight and support by the department,” Hevesi said. “Many of us carry cell phones and expect to be able to use them to call for help in an emergency. Public safety agencies in every part of the New York State must have the technology in place to locate and get assistance to those who need it as quickly as possible.”

“This audit is both disappointing and disturbing,” said Assemblyman David Koon (D/I-Perinton), who was the driving force in the State Legislature to dedicate the funds to wireless E911 implementation. “The technology for wireless E911 exists, resources for funding the implementation of this technology have been made available, and yet a significant number of New Yorkers are still without this very critical public safety tool. It is, literally, a matter of life and death that the Department of State heeds the recommendations of the Comptroller’s office and sees to it that wireless E911 is available in every corner of this State as soon as possible.”

Federal regulations require cell phone service providers to equip most of their phones with technology that enables emergency call centers to determine the approximate location of a user who calls 911 for help. Counties in New York State are not legally required to have the complementary technology to pinpoint the location of a caller, but if they do not, public safety personnel may not be able to locate those who need emergency assistance. Because of the importance of the E911 technology, the State developed a plan and a funding stream - a surcharge on monthly bills for wireless phones and other devices - to encourage counties to develop E911 capability.

Of the State’s 57 counties outside of New York City, auditors found that only 42 had E911 systems as of April 2006. (Auditors noted that this was a dramatic improvement from November 2002, when only 5 of the counties had E911 systems in place.)

Ten of the remaining 15 counties without E911 systems had no way at all to determine the location of a caller: Chenango, Columbia, Essex,

Greene, Jefferson, Oswego, Putnam, St. Lawrence, Saratoga and Seneca. The remaining five counties could determine the closest cell tower to the caller, but not the exact location: Cortland, Franklin, Nassau, Niagara and Orleans.
These 15 counties are home to more than 2.6 million New Yorkers.

DOS is responsible for monitoring and assisting counties’ effort to develop E911 capability. Auditors found that the department was tracking whether or not E911 service was in place, but was not collecting information on when the counties expect to launch E911, what actions they needed to take to put the service in place and what obstacles they faced. Auditors noted that the department was getting information from the counties only through an annual survey, and determined that this data was not sufficient to monitor E911 progress.

Under State legislation enacted in 2002, counties with independent call centers can receive funding from the monthly surcharge paid by all New Yorkers on their cell phone bills to develop E911 systems. Since 2004, the counties can also receive expedited deployment funding, generated by the sale of certain State bonds.

As of March 31, 2006, $50 million in surcharge funds had been made available to counties of which $37.2 million had been disbursed; and $98.3 million in Expedited Deployment Funding had been made available of which $22.6 million had been disbursed. From May 2002 through December 2005, the 15 counties that did not have full E911 capability in place as of April 2006 had been allocated $34.4 million ($6.3 million from surcharge funds and $28.1 million from Expedited Deployment Funding) and had received $7.8 million ($4.1 million from surcharge funds and $3.7 million from Expedited Deployment Funding). Four of the 15 counties received no funding.

Auditors determined that the allocations, awards and disbursements of these funds were not always made in accordance with State law and DOS guidelines.