Agenda

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City Council Regular Meeting

Meeting Date:

06/08/2021

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget and Financial Plan is to obtain consensus approval of Bexar Metro 9-1-1 Network's (Bexar Metro or District) Fiscal Year 2022 (FY2022) operational and financial plans by the District's board of managers and the governing bodies of its forty (40) participating jurisdictions; and provide the continuing operational and fiscal authority necessary for the staff to aggressively establish and maintain all elements necessary to provide quality emergency call delivery via a highly survivable and resilient 9-1-1 system.

The District's source of revenue is the 9-1-1 emergency service fee applied to specified telephone access lines located in Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe Counties. The Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 772, Section 772.314, authorizes the board to impose a 9-1-1 emergency service fee not exceeding six percent of the monthly base rate charged by the principal service supplier. The fee applies to all residential lines and up to the first one hundred business lines at one location. The fee does not apply to state and federal lines. Each year the board calculates the amount of the fee in conjunction with development and approval of the annual budget. By law, the fee has uniform application in each participating jurisdiction and must generate revenue sufficient to match current and projected operational expenses directly related to the District's mission and responsibilities, as well as providing reasonable reserves for contingencies and equipment replacement.

The board of managers initially established the emergency service fee on March 6, 1987, and it remained unchanged until 2018. On July 25, 2018, the board of managers approved the following service fee schedule imposed on each local access line, or equivalent, effective October 1, 2018:
Residential Lines:$ 0.50 Business Lines: $ 1.00

In addition to fees assessed on wireline telephones, Bexar Metro also receives an emergency service fee from each wireless access line within its jurisdiction. This monthly fee, set by Texas law at $0.50 per line, recognizes that the wireless telephone is a link to 9-1-1 service and a wireless telephone user should therefore share a portion of the financial burden for provisioning the network. It also is in recognition of the cost recovery mechanism required to defray a fair and reasonable portion of the network infrastructure expense the wireless providers incur in meeting the federal mandate for wireless Enhanced 9-1-1.

By approving this resolution, the City of Schertz will be accepting the proposed Bexar Metro 9-1-1 Network Fiscal Year 2022 operational and financial budget plans.

Dudley Waite continues to sit on the Bexar metro Board of Directors as the Guadalupe County representative.

GOAL

To obtain consensus of and approval of the 2022 Bexar Metro 9-1-1 operational and financial rates.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

To deploy and maintain a state-of-the-art 9-1-1 emergency communication system enabling citizens in distress to quickly communicate their request for police, fire, or emergency medical assistance.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED ACTION

Approve proposed 2022 Bexar metro FY 2022 budget and 9-1-1 rates.

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no direct fiscal impact to the City of Schertz by approval of this budget. There is no increase in cost to our residents and business who still maintain wired telephone lines for FY 2022.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends Council approve Resolution No. 21-R-54.

Attachments
Proposed 2022 Financial Plan
Transmittal Letter
2020 Audit
2020 Annual Report
Resolution 21-R-54