Watts discusses moving landline 911 fee to county residents’ garbage bills

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, April 5, 2016 — Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts told Nelson Fiscal Court Tuesday that if the county moves forward with changes to its 911 fees, the collection of the fee will likely move from the landline telephone bill to the county residents garbage bills.

Watts has been working to determine the fairest way to bill for the 911 fees. Some electric utilities have balked at placing the 911 fee on their bills.

Watts said placing the fee on tax bills wasn’t fair to property owners. One-fourth of county residents rent, and they would not pay the 911 fee. Placing the fee on garbage bills would be fair for most property owners.

“It’s easy, its local, and we can do it,” he said.

The county has looked at ways to improve collection of the 911 fees that are currently on landline telephone bills. The court is considering a plan to remove the 911 fee from landline phone bills and place them on another bill.

The goal is to restore funding that has dropped as fewer people use landline phone lines. The Nelson County Dispatch center is funded partly by current 911 fees that fall short of funding the service. The city and county split the costs that exceed the fees collected — funds that comes from the city and county general funds, and take money that could be used for other services.

The court will take up the issue at a later date.

BULKY ITEM PICKUP RUNNING BEHIND. Landfill Manager Brad Spalding told the court that the county’s bulky item pickup is about seven days behind schedule.

“It will take all this week and most of next week,” Spalding said.

The number of tires being set out is up this year. Spalding noted that the county’s tire amnesty program — aimed at those with large number of tires to dispose of — is set for April 28-30 at the Nelson County Fairgrounds.

The pickup has netted 6,665 tires so far, compared to 2,500 at the same point last year and 2,710 in 2014.

ROADSIDE GARBAGE PICKUP. The county is looking for community groups who wish to collect trash along the local roadways as a way to generate money for their organization. Spalding said that groups that are interested in participating in the roadside pickup should contact Watts’ office, (502) 348-1800.

In other business, the court:

— approved a request to purchase security cameras for the interior of the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.

The court awarded the work to Interstate Security with their bid of $6,821.

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