Colorado County Emergency Call Center Searches for Funding

Mesa County, Colo., is trying to figure out how to pay for 911 services because of increasing use of 911, soaring costs for police and fire agencies and projected future demands on the system.

Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper says he is concerned about how to divide up the costs and keep down expenses.

The 24 local, state and federal agencies now billed for 911 services at the Grand Junction Regional Communications Center each pay fees based on the number of calls for service. Some of the money comes from local taxes, hurt by sagging mill levies.

According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, more than 144,000 incidents were handled in 2014. That’s a 36 percent increase over five years.