Section 128.37 | [Former R.C. 128.25, amended and renumbered by H.B. 33, 135th General Assembly, effective 10/3/2023] Election on adding monthly charge to telephone bills to fund 9-1-1 system.
(A) This section applies only to a county that meets both of the following conditions:
(1) A final plan for a countywide 9-1-1 system either has not been approved in the county under section 128.08 of the Revised Code or has been approved but has not been put into operation because of a lack of funding;
(2) The board of county commissioners, at least once, has submitted to the electors of the county the question of raising funds for a 9-1-1 system under section 128.35, 5705.19, or 5739.026 of the Revised Code, and a majority of the electors has disapproved the question each time it was submitted.
(B) A board of county commissioners may adopt a resolution imposing a monthly charge on telephone access lines to pay for the equipment costs of establishing and maintaining no more than three public safety answering points of a countywide 9-1-1 system, which public safety answering points shall be only twenty-four-hour dispatching points already existing in the county. The resolution shall state the amount of the charge, which shall not exceed fifty cents per month, and the month the charge will first be imposed, which shall be no earlier than four months after the special election held pursuant to this section. Each residential and business telephone company customer within the area served by the 9-1-1 system shall pay the monthly charge for each of its residential or business customer access lines or their equivalent.
Before adopting a resolution under this division, the board of county commissioners shall hold at least two public hearings on the proposed charge. Before the first hearing, the board shall publish notice of the hearings once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised Code. The notice shall state the amount of the proposed charge, an explanation of the necessity for the charge, and the date, time, and location of each of the hearings.
(C) A resolution adopted under division (B) of this section shall direct the board of elections to submit the question of imposing the charge to the electors of the county at a special election on the day of the next primary or general election in the county. The board of county commissioners shall certify a copy of the resolution to the board of elections not less than ninety days before the day of the special election. No resolution adopted under division (B) of this section shall take effect unless approved by a majority of the electors voting upon the resolution at an election held pursuant to this section.
In any year, the board of county commissioners may impose a lesser charge than the amount originally approved by the electors. The board may change the amount of the charge no more than once a year. The board may not impose a charge greater than the amount approved by the electors without first holding an election on the question of the greater charge.
(D) Money raised from a monthly charge on telephone access lines under this section shall be deposited into a special fund created in the county treasury by the board of county commissioners pursuant to section 5705.12 of the Revised Code, to be used only for the necessary equipment costs of establishing and maintaining no more than three public safety answering points of a countywide 9-1-1 system pursuant to a resolution adopted under division (B) of this section. In complying with this division, any county may seek the assistance of the steering committee with regard to operating and maintaining a 9-1-1 system.
(E) Pursuant to the voter approval required by division (C) of this section, the final plan for a countywide 9-1-1 system that will be funded through a monthly charge imposed in accordance with this section shall be amended by the existing 9-1-1 program review committee, and the amendment of such a final plan is not an amendment of a final plan for the purpose of division (A) of section 128.12 of the Revised Code.
Last updated September 14, 2023 at 5:38 PM
Available Versions of this Section
- October 3, 2023 – House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View October 3, 2023 Version ]