| OCR Text |
Show Page Ai4 GheSatiLakeTribune OPINION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1899 OUR VIEW The Sait Lake Tribune’s Editorial Position Auditors Call 911 Wireless phones have been a boon to emergency services because ‘people can report crimes and emergencies quickly that they have properly collected the fees. Even the Ngelia 000 estimate is Iéss technology will be even more valuable because emergency dispatchers shaky; it is based on the Commission’s experiencecollecting another fee that paysfor the statewide poison control center operated by the University of next technological advance, the state fee and have the Tax Commission, while they are on the move. Soon wirewill be able to trace the location where wireless calls originate. To smooth that should create a small office to coordi‘nate 911 phoneservice. That’s the gist of a recently released report from the Legislative Auditor General. The auditors examined a numberof issues in the 911 phone sys“tem in Utah, and they make a strong ‘case for their recommendations. The auditors suggestgiving the State Tax Commission the job ofcollecting 911 service fees from telecommunica- «tions companies. The phone companies collect those fees, 50 or 53 cents per line per month, from customers to help fund 911 service. Today, the phone compa- nies mustremitthose fees to a variety of city and county governments. They, in turn,operate 35 different 911 answering centers statewide; in Utah County alone thereare five. It is not surprising that there is confusion over the fees among the 32 phone companies providing wired and wire- less service in Utah and the38 local and county governments that impose the fees. That confusion is compounded be- cause some local governments that a pose the fees don’t actually operate - answering centers, although they ig pay for them. The state operates five, counties operate 17, cities run 12 more, and the largest, in Salt Lake County, is operated underaninterlocal agreement that includes virtually everybody except Salt Lake City. Confused? So, apparently, are someofthe people running the 911 systems. The auditors The answer is to impose a uniform whichis good atthis sort ofthing,collect it from the phone oon, While they are making this change, legislators ahsshould follow the auditors’ advice to tighten up the law that defines how the fee revenues can be spent. The problem is notthat the funds are disappearing mysteriously but that the law does not make clear whether they can only be spentfor 911 answering equipmentor for other things like dispatchersalaries and ue leases. To track the funds properly, and make sure that they are equitably divided, the rules shouldbe clarified. Which brings us back to the need for a state office to coordinate 911 policy. The auditors point out that this office could studythelevel of the 911 fees to see if they are appropriate and could make rules to carry outthe nitty-gritty of the Legislature’s policy. In other states, these offices are small, just three people. Onepolicy decision the Legislature must ad it, however,is whether the fee system is supposed to provide a statewide system with uniform service or simply local systems. The status quo favors local systems in urban areas. ‘The auditors concludethat now is an dictional lines. While they are atit, the lawmakers estimate that about $700,000 in fees that shouldforce the consolidation of911 call could be collected this year won't be, centers. taxpayers would get more bang for their bucks if there was one in Utah County instead of five, one in Davis County insteadof four, onein Salt Lake County instead of two. because some of the governments in- volved can’t keep track of the phone companies.The governments pretty much take the phone companies’ word THE PUBLIC FORUM ideal timefor the Legislature to address these issues, because the technological upgrades necessary to provide call tracing from wireless phones pose technical questions that cross manyjuris- Layden s Legacy ’ Letters from The Tribune’s readers The Missing Voice Computers are one of the greatest technical advancements of the century and I don’t know where we would be as a society without them, but there comes a time when this “convenience” is more troublethatit is worth. Recently, I spent 30 minutestrying to clarify a problem on my long-distance bill, something that could have beeneasily taken care ofif I had spoken with an actual person in stead of an annoying computer,offering Amidtheflurry of end-of-the-century lists, like The Tribune’s compilation of Utah's 50 greatest athletes of the 20th Scentury last Sunday, it is fair to say that anylist of the outstanding contributors to Utah sports this century would have ‘to include Frank Layden’s name near thetop. Layden, who announced his retire- ment Tuesdayafter two decadesof ser- ‘Vice to the Utah Jazz, has been a uniquely piluensial figure in his adopted state and in his sport. His revered status in Utah does not stem so tmuch from his accomplishments as a head coach (he had an overall losing record) or as an executive(for the past decade, he has essentially been a goodwill ambassadorfor the team) as it does numberretired for saving a franchise. It has becomealmosta cliche that the Jazz would not be in Utah without Layden’s tireless efforts in the team’s early years, but it is almost certainly true. When he cameto Salt LakeCity in 1979 as the team’s new general manager, he had a goal of bringing the Jazz the kind ofstability that Tom Landry and Don Shula were providing the Cowboys and Dolphins atthe time, and he succeeded. a small-market franchise that needed one. It is not overstating the case that, be- Layden is one of only five men in community frequently divided over re- pound for Springfield, and that only “underscores the point: He is the only seoncl in league history to have his our homes begging us to change carriers, but they never seem to wantto talk to us when we have a problem with their ser- vice. If they want our business, they telephone numbers. Information other than your name and the city in which youlive are keptconfidential. @ Keep it short. Concise letters developing a single theme are more likely to be published. @ Please type and double space. @ Letters are condensed and edited. @ Because of the volume of mail received, not all submissions are published. @ Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 ‘™ Our fax number is (801) 257-8950. ought to have the courtesy to answer their phones! Brooklyn actively courted Mormons and Gentiles, Cougars and Utes, urban Utahns and rural ones,to the Jazz cause and helped unite the community and the state behind the team. Withhis disarming sense of humor and his inclu- sive spirit, he brought people together and brightened their lives — estimable deeds for any public figure. - Time to Reconcile in Guatemala ments in 1996 ended more than three decades ofcivil war. The challenges that lie ahead are Judicial Lesson Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) anythingto that in my geography and music ee is beyond me. People who glance at the headlines have the im- rounded ands WhenI started to work, the same principles applied. The harder and smarter you , the more you earn and the more you succeed in your profession. Working hard for success in whatever you choose to do is as American as apple pie and baseball. But now a federal judge has a aa puta sour applein the pie. He has ruled that he will soon punish one of the most suc- msibility. Hous Salt ‘ribune articles mentioned .0.'s pee While a ma- STACI MECHAM West Jordan half are either unemployed or under- The legacies of poverty and war demand that Portillo moans cee 8 cael 1D bitterness Se en ee ee ee to the What cious children have connected at the head? There was than a 50 percent chancefor ‘the tou are nothing thatber ait easiay after the twins were born.” felt wish that would be possible? RON HAMBLIN Q Running Roughshod? Politics won again. By p east-west light-rail line on they oan Portillo will need international aid to even begin to earene owesees Die Ontited States and moverr promptbalneighbors should peoye know dag ch son of people have done more the good ofsociWywine coldbanPeon son very important Nala you ‘think the greatest country inthe world. employed, TheKaltLakeTribune UTAH'S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE1871" AST I ‘ PUBLISHERS Jobin F. Fitepatiick (1924-1960) Joho W. Gallivan (1960-1983) ane article did say that we have babies with an birthweight.” How I have WhenI was growing up, my parents ic and ty percent Scountry’s 11 million inhabitants live in -extreme poverty,and slightly more than use,” and most improved in “parental peceeibaton Couldn’t any of these phrases been good 3? Or won't 2 paper sell without someeducation ion that our education system in ANOTHER VIEW stion since the signing of peace agree- line indicated. I found,instead, tat ee we have a “90 percent completion rate,”oT been a force for ecumenism in a ligious lines. The Irish Catholic from Condensedfrom The Los Angeles Times Guatemalans Sundayelected Alfonso Syortillo to lead them into the next cenrtury. It was the first presidential elec- 1 was quite disheartened and concerned by the wordingin the about education on Dec. 3. In the article I was expecting to find that Utah is sen in some area in education, as itah is totally lacking. I have taught young people of this state for 30 years, usually saddled witha Legislature that cares more about new roads, skiing, taking guns to school, etc., than about their own kids. I have seen teachers work with the greatest faith JENNIFER GILLESPIE Salt Lake City Q coaching: He took a team from the dregs to perennial playoff qualification. Ail the while, he gave a face, an identity, to yond the basketball floor, Frank Layden tive personality. Long-distance companies have no qualms abouthaving telemarketers call He also did the hardest thing in NBA from the force of his relentlessly posi- NBAhistory whose teams haveretired a number in their honor as bench coaches (as opposed to those whoplayed for and later coached their teams), and the other four — Red Auerbach, Chuck aly Red Holzman and Jack Ramsay — in the Hall of Fame. Layden is not menuafter menuof information I didn’t need or want. Maligned Heroes Where to Write @ When submitting letters to the Public Forum, please include your full name,signature, address and daytime down. weberdita, = ein gts have no vision Where the west side of |
