JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Voters in Stutsman County will be tasked with voting up or down on one measure during the November 6th General Election.

The measure will ask voters to vote yes or no to increase the 911 fee from $1.00 to $1.50. Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist says the big reason for the proposed increase is the cost increase of maintaining the service equipment.

Bergquist says today, more people have moved away from using landlines and use cell phones instead, which has cut into the revenues. He says they now only receive around $234,397 to upkeep the services, which means they are relying more on general funding. It currently costs approximately $650,000 to operate the Stutsman County Communications Center.

Bergquist says 80% of the 911 calls they receive come from cell phones and continues to grow. Right now, the county charges $1.50 per phone line in the county, but is required to send $0.50 to the state to fund the Statewide Inter-operable Radio Network.

If the measure is approved by voters, an additional $130,000 in revenues would be generated to help the Communications Center operate and alleviate the general fund assistance.

Those with questions on the measure are encouraged to contact Jerry Bergquist at 701-252-9093. He says they will also post something on the county website regarding the measure in the coming days.