Faced with the prospect of costly legal expenses and growing citizen unease, the Ventura City Council on Monday agreed to do what many of their constituents have voiced for months: They pulled the plug on the city’s 911 fee.
“I think it’s time we cut our losses,” said Councilman Neal Andrews, who called the fee ill-advised and politely urged his colleagues to join him in dumping it.
A formal vote still has to occur for the fee to expire Feb. 1. A plan to offer refunds also needs to be ironed out.
But the council’s unanimous decision Monday ceremoniously slammed the door on the controversial $1.49 monthly charge, adopted in February as a way to pay for the city’s 911 call center and free up money to add police officers and firefighters.
“I think we all realized it was time to take another look at this,” Mayor Christy Weir said. “But the need (for safety personnel) still remains. We haven’t solved anything here.”
Ventura in February became the first city in Southern California to adopt a $1.49 monthly fee on all local telephone lines to pay for the city’s $3.3 million 911 call center and free up money to hire up to six new police officers and three firefighters.
It also was the first city to allow telephone users to avoid the monthly charge by agreeing to pay $17.88 per 911 call, despite concerns it would discourage people from using 911.
No officers or firefighters were ever hired. Instead, billing issues piled up, along with complaints. A class-action lawsuit surfaced in November, calling the fee a tax in disguise that should have gone to voters and demanding refunds.
Story by Ventura County Star
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