New Jersey’s 9-1-1 Fee: Where Does the Money Go? New Jersey’s 9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee charges $0.90/month per phone line, generating ~$125M annually, But here’s the catch: most of the money isn’t used for 9-1-1! The Numbers: Revenue: The fee collects ~$125M/year (e.g., $122M in 2017, $126M in 2020 & 2022), based on ~11.5M taxable mobile and landline numbers. Operating Costs: NJ’s 263 public safety answering points (PSAPs) cost ~$167.5M/year to run: $125M for county operations (salaries, training, maintenance). $20M for state infrastructure/admin $15M for county upgrades $7.5M for NextGen 9-1-1 (NG911) efforts. The Problem: Only $17–30M of the fee goes to 9-1-1 (e.g., 14% in 2022). The rest (~$100–110M) is diverted to state budgets, like funding the State Police, leaving counties to foot the bill via property taxes Why It Matters: NJ’s 9-1-1 system is outdated, lagging on NG911 upgrades (text, video, better location data). Counties spend $125M/year on operations, but get no state fee revenue, leading to “double taxation.” Since 2004, NJ collected $1.4B, but diverted most, stalling critical upgrades and risking public safety What’s Next? A proposed $0.99/month fee increase could boost revenue to ~$137.5M by 2025, but without redirecting funds to PSAPs, the system stays underfunded. Counties like Hunterdon ($4.2M for upgrades) and Cumberland ($40M needed) are left scrambling Let’s Talk: Should NJ stop diverting 9-1-1 fees and fully fund our emergency systems? Share your thoughts!