Sterling councilman: Support public safety sales tax vote April 1

Several years ago, the Illinois Legislature passed an unfunded mandate requiring 911 call centers across the state be consolidated.

The state mandated that counties with a population of less than 250,000 would have to do this if their 911 call center was not already a big, gigantic call center covering the entire county.

The mandate is a little more complicated than that, but that is the simple version. I can’t thoroughly review the statute because this column is limited to 900 words, and state statutes are a little wordy.

State statute, 50 ILCS 750/15.4a, directs the consolidation of the Emergency Telephone Systems Boards, Joint Emergency Telephone System Boards, and PSAPs. What’s a PSAP? A PSAP is a Public Safety Answering Point.

Whiteside County is working on meeting the requirements for consolidating the 911 call center and organizing everything under one roof.

They are close to finishing this consolidation, but there is a problem that will not go away and it cannot be ignored.

This unfunded mandate means that someone has to pay the cost of consolidating the 911 call centers, and that someone is you, the taxpayers of Whiteside County, and every county in the Sauk Valley region that is or will be consolidating their 911 call centers.

The 911 call center has been running a deficit of roughly $500,000 yearly for several years. Providing a 911 service is expensive and keeps getting more expensive by the year.

Money for the 911 call center budget comes from several sources. Sterling and Rock Falls currently pay a large part of this budget, and the county also pays a large share, but this is not enough.

So how do we fix that problem?

To overcome this deficit, we must create a new revenue source. That new revenue source is the Public Safety Sales Tax, and the referendum question will be on the April 1 ballot.

Everyone dislikes taxes and we do not want to create new ones. However, this situation requires the passage of the Public Safety Sales Tax referendum.

We want the best emergency services money can buy. We provide our police with the most modern communication devices, protective gear, and patrol cars, and occasionally throw in a K-9 or comfort dog.

Our firefighters get the same treatment. They get equipment that protects them when fighting fires while inside burning buildings and roll bars for the fire engines. Roll bars?

The Sterling City Council recently heard that the new ladder truck being considered for purchase will have a roll bar in the truck’s cab to protect the firefighters in that cab. How many watch Chicago Fire? I swear. A fire engine gets T-boned almost every other week on that show. That happens in the real world, and we need to protect our firefighters from the injuries that may occur from such an accident.

Suppose we are willing to pay for the best equipment, training, and work environment for our police, firefighters, and sheriff’s department. Why not do the same for the 911 call center personnel? After all, they serve you, the taxpayers, just as our police, firefighters, and the sheriff’s department do.

When we pay for the best, we get the best.

What’s in it for you? If this referendum is approved, then everyone will pay. Not just you.

People passing through our communities will pay for the fuel, food, and fun they buy.

A Google search tells me that the Pilot Flying J Travel Center coming to Rock Falls will be a cash cow for the city, county, and the 911 call center if the referendum passes.

The 750 travel centers across America that sell 9.25 billion gallons of fuel a year could generate a hefty amount of revenue for any community where one is located. And truckers need more than fuel to keep their rigs rolling down the road. Do the math. Calculators don’t lie.

We’ve talked, discussed, and read about the why and what for several years. There is nothing more to do but approve this referendum. There is no fat to trim, no cuts to make and no workforce reductions that will fix this problem. Unless this referendum is passed, there will not be enough money to pay for the new, improved, fully staffed, adequately trained personnel 911 call center that we need.

If the referendum fails, you, the property owners, will still pay for it through increased property taxes. You renters will be paying, too, because your landlord will pass that property tax increase along to you.

So, you can either pay a slight increase in the local sales tax or property taxes. I don’t know about you but I’d rather pay a little bit more sales tax based on my purchases rather than paying more in property taxes. How much more will depend upon another person’s opinion of how much my property is worth.

But there is light at the end of the tax tunnel.

If the travel center generates enough revenue to pay a big chunk of the 911 call center budget, this sales tax could be lowered to reduce your tax burden in the future.

However, we will never know if that could happen unless the Public Safety Sales Tax referendum is approved on April 1.

• Jim Wise is a Sterling city councilman.