Section 5. County plan.
(a) Minimum standards.--Upon the agreement of the governing authority of a county to establish a 911 system, a plan shall be drafted meeting at least the standards promulgated by the agency. The county may obtain technical assistance from the agency in formulating its plan. Each 911 plan shall be designed to meet the individual circumstances of each community and the public agencies participating in the 911 system.
(b) Completion.--Upon completion of the plan, it shall be forwarded to the agency, with a copy of the plan being sent to those telephone companies affected by the plan. At such time as the plan is submitted to the agency, the county shall also provide each adjacent county with a list of local telephone exchanges included in the plan, specifically noting any such exchanges known to provide telephone service to residents of more than one county.
(c) Agency review.--The agency shall review each county plan for completeness. The agency shall forward a copy of the county plan and the proposed contribution rate to the council and the commission for review as required by this section. After the county plan has been reviewed by the council and the commission, the agency shall approve or reject a county plan based on the recommendations of the council and the commission. If the county plan is rejected, the agency shall return the county plan and explain the deficiencies that caused the rejection.
(d) Council review.--The council shall have 90 days to review the plan and make suggested revisions of the plan. The agency may act as agent for the council in the administration of the plan approval process.
(e) Commission review.--The commission shall review the county plan only in relation to the contribution rate and may modify only those contribution rates which it finds excessive to meet the costs stated in the plan. The rates shall be reviewed and a decision forwarded to the agency within 90 days of the date of submission. If the commission fails to review the contribution rate within 90 days, the contribution rate will be deemed approved by the commission.
(f) Present systems.--Those counties that presently have 911 systems may establish a contribution rate to cover nonrecurring and operating costs of an existing 911 system by using the same contribution rate approval mechanism as a new 911 system for the purposes of this act. A county which does not have a 911 system in operation on the effective date of this act but which awarded a contract for such a system prior to the effective date of this act shall be considered to have a present system.
(g) Regional systems.--Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit the formation of multijurisdictional or regional 911 systems, and any regional system established under this act shall include the territory of two or more counties.
(h) Contribution rate changes.--Once a plan and contribution rate has been established, the contribution rate shall remain fixed for a period of at least three years. Updating and expanding the present system shall require an amended plan to be filed with the agency. The contribution rate shall remain fixed for three years even if the present system is updated and expanded. Requests for contribution rate changes shall be submitted to the agency to be forwarded to the commission for approval as provided by subsection (e). Contribution rate increases shall not be permitted more often than every three years and shall not take effect unless approved by the commission.
(i) Assessment.--The moneys collected from the telephone contribution rate shall be utilized for payments of nonrecurring and recurring costs of a 911 system. The contribution rate may be imposed at any time subsequent to the execution of a contract with the provider of a 911 service at the discretion of the governing body and pursuant to approval of the county plan and contribution rate under the provisions of this section. The money collected from the contribution rate is a county fee collected by the telephone company; the money is not subject to taxes or charges levied on or by the telephone company. The money collected from the contribution rate shall not be considered revenue of the telephone company for any purpose.
(5 amended Feb. 12, 1998, P.L.64, No.17)