Single Copy Cost 50¢ Volume 148 No. 18
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Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Looking back at 2015 The year in news at a glance Compiled by Shannon Serpette
Throwing 911 a lifeline PCR photo/Dave Cook
In Illinois, 911 dispatch centers, such as the Putnam County center, manned here by Terrie Zilm, face legislation that begins Jan. 1 and will make all 911 surcharges uniform throughout the state and calls for consolidation of some 911 centers.
New legislation aimed at leveling playing field for centers By Goldie Rapp and Shannon Serpette
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
With the New Year right around the corner, 911 directors and coordinators are waiting to see how upcoming 911 legislation, set to begin Jan. 1, will affect their systems’ bottom lines. Decreasing revenue Over the past few years, 911 systems in the Illinois Valley have watched as their landline totals have dropped drastically — and with it, their revenue. BuEComm (Bureau Emergency Communications) in Bureau County for instance, has faced financial loss every year since 2008, in large part because of the sheer number of people who are abandoning landlines. In 2008, BuEComm was receiving surcharges on more than 16,000 landlines. “Each year that number has decreased by thousands. Today we have 7,778 landlines,” BuEComm Director Diana Stiles said. Bureau County isn’t alone. In neighboring Putnam County, landlines have been dropping too. When Putnam County Enhanced 911 began in 2005,
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there was a total of 3,052 landlines. That has decreased steadily over the years. “Our landline count is approximately 1,566 lines,” Lynn Haage, 911 coordinator for Putnam County, said. New legislation The money a 911 center brings in is largely dependent on how many wireless lines they get paid for, as well as how many landlines they have and what the fee charged per landline is. New legislation hopes to level the playing field — it will create a uniform charge for all lines, whether landline or wireless. It will also ensure that what one person pays for a surcharge is the same – no matter which part of the state they live in. For example, residents served by BuEComm currently pay $1.95 a month for their landline charge and 73 cents per wireless line, while residents in neighboring Putnam County pay a monthly rate of $3.90 for a landline and 58 cents per wireless line. Beginning Jan. 1, all surcharges are to be a uniform 87 cents for both landlines and wireless lines.
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Digital distress: 911 enters world of video and texts By Shannon Serpette and Goldie Rapp news@putnamcountyrecord.com
Despite legislative changes, BuEComm and Putnam County 911 are forging ahead with plans of implementing Next Generation 911, which allows texting, video and other digital media usage. “Putnam County is part of a regional group known as the North Central Illinois System. Our Next Generation equipment is ordered and will be installed hopefully sometime in January 2016,” Lynn Haage, 911 coordinator for Putnam County, said. “However, the purchase and installation of the equipment is only the first phase of the Next Generation project. The next phase will entail completing a fiber
optic ring connecting all participants in the NCIS group. Due to budget constraints on many PSAPs, not everyone in the NCIS group was able to order their equipment at this time.” In Bureau County, BuEComm is still a part of the 10-county Next Generation Alliance, which is a think tank made up of representatives from Winnebago, Stephenson, Ogle, Lee, Jo Daviess, DeKalb, Carroll, Boone, Bureau and McHenry counties. Members of the alliance work together to determine ways to generate funds for Next Generation. The idea has been the more agencies the alliance can work with, the better possibility they could share equipment, resources and help work out kinks in the system.
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Editor’s note: This is the first part in a series recapping what happened in the area in 2015. Jan. 7 An auction has been set for the contents of the former Hennepin steel mill. Many of the items listed are pieces of scrap or tools from the previous operations. The mill was recently purchased by IPS Steel. Jan. 14 The Granville Village Board voted 4-1 in favor of adding a third full-time police officer. Police chief Kevin Moore requested hiring a third full-time officer because the village has had high turnover for its part-time officers. Officers were leaving to take fulltime employment in other towns. The state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act is behind schedule. The 22 centers were supposed to be announced in December, but so far the 159 applicants are still waiting to hear who has been selected. Jan. 21 Putnam County set aside its long-time basketball rivalry with Henry to make a generous donation to Henry coach Steve Self, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2014. The $500 donation was presented to Team Self at a game. Jan. 28 Brian Gonet, a part-time Granville police officer, was bumped up to fulltime status, beginning March 1. Granville police chief Kevin Moore asked the board earlier in January to consider hiring another full-time officer to reduce the level of turnover the village has been seeing with its part-time officers. The Hennepin Village Board expanded its fireworks budget by 10 percent. The 2015 fireworks budget was $15,400, compared to a 2014 budget of $14,000. In addition, the
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