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| Tracy Residents Now Have To Pay For 911 Calls |
| 2010-02-21 |
| Tracy residents will now have to pay every time they call 9-1-1 for a medical emergency. But there are a couple of options. Residents can pay a $48 voluntary fee for the year which allows them to call 9-1-1 as many times as necessary. Or, there's the option of not signing up for the annual fee. Instead, they will be charged $300 if they make a call for help. "A $300 fee and you don't even want to be thinking about that when somebody is in need of assistance," said Tracy resident Greg Bidlack. Residents will soon receive the form in the mail where they'll be able to make their selection. No date has been set for when the charges will go into effect. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #5 isn't there already a tax that shows up on the phone bill for 911 calling? The funding for 911 must vary from place to place. In my neck of the woods, a tax on every local phone goes to pay for 911. The local ambulance service is supported by property & income taxes. Local residents get at least one free ride to the hospital per year, anyone else gets a standard bill, the kind a private ambulance service would send. Seldom will services like 911 or ambulance rides be given away as a charitable activity. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-02-21 20:02 |
| #4 But what about the Poor(tm)? /sarc off |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-02-21 18:25 |
| #3 Sounds like a fire tag. When I was growing up, people in the country bought fire tags to get coverage from the local fire department. The tag was a nominal amount of money, but if you didn't have one, the fire department would stand there while your house burned unless you handed them a substantial amount of money. (Someone -- but it was a kid, so take that for what it's worth -- told me you had to give them $2000 on the spot.) I remember there was an enormous stink when a house which had a tag burned, but the fire department refused to recognize it. The owners weren't home, and the fire department turned up to keep neighboring structures safe (if they had tags). Neighbors pointed out the tag, and the picture in the paper showed the smoldering ruins in the background, and the tag (you usually nailed it to your mailbox post) in the foreground. Never heard how that turned out. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2010-02-21 16:55 |
| #2 So call. Answering is extra. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-02-21 14:16 |
| #1 isn't there already a tax that shows up on the phone bill for 911 calling? |
| Posted by: chris 2010-02-21 14:02 |