Courtesy photo On Tuesday, Rory Sherwood, lead dispatcher at Alpena County Central Dispatch, is seen working at his dispatch terminal.

ALPENA — Kim Elkie, director of Alpena County Central Dispatch, said the 911 surcharge is essential to fund the center, which provides essential life saving services to Alpena County residents.

Voters in Alpena County will decide in May if they want to keep the surcharge as it is now, or risk having the emergency communication center become underfunded.

Elkie explained that the 911 surcharge is a $3 monthly charge per phone which funds Central Dispatch in Alpena County. She added that Central Dispatch does not receive money from Alpena County’s general fund to provide 911 services, which is not uncommon.

While preparing the annual report to the Michigan State 911 Office, Elkie said that she has to certify Alpena County’s 911 surcharge no later than May 15 for a coverage period of July 1 through June 30, 2027. The current surcharge expires on Dec. 31.

For this reason, Alpena County must hold a special election in May. If the county waits until the August election, there will be lapse in funding, according to Elkie.

Elkie said that the surcharge process was approved by the voters in 1997 and was capped at $2.20 per device. She added that money from the surcharge comes “with lots of strings attached.”

The $3.00 charge on the ballot for the May special election is a renewal and was first passed in 2013.

“We can only spend surcharge dollars on services directly related to 911,” Elkie said. “We can pay for costs to be in our building. We can pay wages. We can buy technology … we are limited in what the funds can be spent on.”

An overlooked aspect of Central Dispatch is that the center is required to have “redundant layers” of essential equipment to ensure that dispatch employees are always able to receive calls.

“Regardless of weather or anything else, we can answer calls for help,” Elkie said.

She added that the state provides Central Dispatch with a strict “can” and “cannot” spending list that they have to abide by. In 2023, Alpena County Central Dispatch was chosen by a lottery system to be randomly audited across the period of five years and three directors.

“We had all our documentation,” she said.

Elkie said that Central Dispatch received a positive audit report which revealed zero flagged expenditures.

“I was really proud of that,” she added. “Clearly everyone was following the rules.”

Elkie explained that in general, she operates Central Dispatch on a frugal budget, always coming under her budget for the year.

“We are very frugal with our money … I pinch the pennies until they bleed,” she said.

Though Central Dispatch must be conservative with its funding, Elkie said that the center remains fully staffed with 10 full-time dispatch employees and one part-time dispatch employee. She added that though it is not a requirement in the state of Michigan, all Alpena County Central Dispatch employees must maintain an Emergency Medical Dispatch certification which requires 24 hours of continued education every two years.

“We take a lot of pride in that,” Elkie said.

She explained that this medical certification gives employees the necessary training to aid a caller in CPR instructions, or other lifesaving measures, until a first responder arrives on scene.

“Time is very precious,” Elkie added.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.