Installation to start soon on 911 system

The county needs $300,000 to buy equipment to track cell phone calls to 911.
LISBON -- Despite a one-month delay in the start of installation, Commissioner Gary Williams believes the county's 911 system will be operational by the end of the year.
Williams said Wednesday 911 system installation is to begin Monday. Verizon officials had said they would begin Columbiana County installation after completing some improvements to Tuscarawas County's system, Williams said.
The delay in starting installation of Columbiana County's system is because work in Tuscarawas is taking longer than expected, Williams said.
Meanwhile, Williams said about $300,000 is needed to buy the equipment to allow cellular phone customers to dial 911. He estimated cellular service will be added to the county's 911 system by the end of 2007.
Paying for the system
He said the county has received about $113,000 so far from a 32-cent surcharge collected from cellular phone customers August 2005 through May.
He anticipates the surcharge will result in about $172,000 per year to help pay for 911 service for the county's cellular phone customers.
He said the money collected from the cellular surcharge can only be used for the cellular service portion of the 911 system.
The county will have five answering points: Columbiana, East Liverpool, East Palestine, Salem and the county sheriff's office. The system will show dispatchers the location of calls.