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5,000 have filed to opt out of 911 fee
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More from Local NewsVentura residents seeking to avoid a new monthly fee for 911 emergency dispatch services have filed forms representing nearly 5,000 telephone lines so far, city officials said Thursday.
Of the 4,986 forms filed as of Thursday, 3,093 were submitted online and 1,893 came in hard-copy form, spokeswoman Anne Hallock said. The total figure, however, represents only a small percentage of the 158,000 estimated phone lines eligible for the fee.
Residents who want to avoid the $1.49 monthly fee — and instead pay $17.88 per 911 call — can enroll online at http://www.cityofventura.net or in person in the Treasury Office, Room 107, City Hall, 501 Poli St.
The fee, which takes effect May 6, applies to all land-line and cellular services registered in the city, with some exceptions.
Residents can also download a printable form online or call 658-4715 to have one sent to them, city officials said.
Those who don't submit a form will automatically be charged $1.49 per line monthly on their phone bills. Trunk lines will be charged for a maximum of three lines ($4.47 per month), and Lifeline telephone customers are exempt. Those selecting the per-call alternative would get a free pass on their first 911 call.
The per-call enrollment form requires information from a person's telephone bill, including the account number, exact subscriber name and billing address. Residents have until May 6 to enroll.
— From staff reports
Posted by cslaurie on March 14, 2008 at 7:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sitting Councilmen take notice. There are 5,000 votes against you at the next election.
Posted by thegreatpumpkin on March 14, 2008 at 8:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen Sister! If it says incumbent... They're gone!
Posted by numonics on March 14, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is crazy. I understand paying a $1.49 per household, but up to five dollars is nuts. I have 4 lines. If this is a tax to us they can't get away with this. They can tax us to repair the 911 system but not to do both, hire police and firefighters and fix the 911 system. I chose not to pay and now I will have to think twice about calling the police as 17.00 a call is a crime in itself. Once people realize they are paying they will start to complain. Most people don't read the local news and don't know about this. You will see sometime after May 6th people will be mad.
Posted by shaver_one on March 14, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Change all your cell phones to pre-paid. No monthly phone bill means no monthly 9-1-1 tax charge. And, if you have to call for police: 650-8010.
If a new council is seated, based on this tax-revolt, can you be sure that they can or will eliminate this tax? It's one thing to oust the council for illegally imposing a new tax. It's quite another matter to guarantee that the tax will be removed.
Remember THIS, when you go to the polls. Once a tax is in place, it usually stays in place.
Posted by sirdvsdsw on March 14, 2008 at 10:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So being a good samaritan and calling 911 when I should happen to witness an accident, an idiot tagger spary painting my neighbors property, or any violent act will cost me $1.49 a month or $17.00 a call. I love it!
Posted by numonics on March 14, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As far as I know people have already complained to our local tax board and they are looking into the legality of this tax. Based on the law if a tax is imposed the voters have a right to vote on it. I didn't see any voting on this which means it was imposed on us which isn't 100% legal. People should complain and have it be voted on. They basically are using loop holes to approve this, which will in the end be stopped. They are hoping people will not complain and go with it. Please complain and exercise your rights. I am all for more police and firefighters but I don't like things imposed on me from the government. We all deserve our voting rights to determine if things should be or not.
Posted by fungus on March 14, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How much do you think this wil lcost the city in legal fees to defend? Probably less than the reveunes received by the time the lawsuit is completed and the fee repealed. Nice thinking ahead City Council!
Posted by pfg93003 on March 14, 2008 at 3:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
5000, that is a lot of people and I am sure most have multiple phones so the number of lines is easily double. I am sure the number will climb as the deadline approaches. Now if you sign up for a new line after the deadline can you opt out or not?
Posted by DoctorDude on March 14, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
for the record it's now 5001
Posted by zoezoe on March 14, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't delay. Talk about sending a message. But many more are needed.
Posted by zoezoe on March 14, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't delay. Talk about sending a message. But many more are needed.
Posted by Jocko on March 15, 2008 at 6:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have been told that if you opt out, when you call 911 say that it is for someone else, then you will not be charged the fee. This fee is just a tax that is being imposed without due process and voted on by the public.
Posted by smithjc on March 15, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
my "opt-out" can be multiplied by 3 lines.
Posted by pfg93003 on March 15, 2008 at 5:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
next time you call 911 it will sound like this:
"911 what is your emergency and credit card number?"
Posted by JusAnAmerican on March 16, 2008 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The People of the great city of Ventura need to think very carefully, organized and throw them out. Throw out the city officials and throw out the police chief for not being able to balance a budget.
Posted by NothingButTheTruth on March 16, 2008 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Where is the ACLU when ALL taxpayers need them? Also, is there a California Attorney General's opinion on the matter?
Posted by AnnaWhaat on March 17, 2008 at 6:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
numonics ,Now I could be wrong.........but I am assumming that you have four phones on one line. So it would be the lesser amount.
sirdvsdsw ,The way I understand it ,its a tax for personnal calls not emergencies you see .???????
Now if you have two line,two different phone numbers, like some with a fax machine with a different phone number or those with dial up that have two different phone numbers it would be doubled.
Posted by shaver_one on March 17, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
pfg93003:
You have it backwards.
"9-1-1. May I have your credit card number? Now...what's your emergency?"
Posted by pfg93003 on March 17, 2008 at 6 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I do. Now lets put the MC and Visa stickers on the sides of the police cars
Posted by ffemt2018 on March 17, 2008 at 9:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To quote someone from another remark "It goes directly to the dispatcher....essentially the same thing as calling 911 but you wont be charged....ever..."BULL CRAP It is not essentially the same thing. Hope you are not frantic enough as to where the dispatcher can understand your address, or the burglar who broke into your house will let you tell the dispatcher the number while he is beating you for calling the police, or when you are calling for help and can't speak because the heart attack is too great. 911 automatically shows your address, 650 doesn't. 805-650-8010 won't help you when you need it the most. 911 is alot more than just a number. The seven digit number does not show up with your address like 911. I hope and pray that when you call 650-8010 you can speak because dispatch will not know where you are.
Posted by resonableperson on March 17, 2008 at 10:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The one thing the city failed to do here, was to allow the citizens to vote. Something so simple yet it appears that it will cost more in legal fees then the money they were trying to raise in the first place.
What will the county do with the record breaking amount of property tax collected for 2007?
Posted by babsb45 on March 18, 2008 at 4:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, I just opted out of the 911 Enrollment Tax. That's $89.40 a year that the city will not be getting from me for my 5 lines. I urge everyone else to do the same thing. The city council needs to know that they can't just impose these taxes on us by calling them a "fee". PLEASE OPT OUT!
Posted by AnnaWhaat on March 19, 2008 at 6:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
babsb45 ,Just curious....do you have five phones on one line or five different phone numbers. Each having there own different number?
Posted by Glidemaster on March 19, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am one of the 5000 to opt-out and I represent 7 actual phone lines between land/cell/data.
Posted by abbyjacks on March 19, 2008 at 2:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As we can read in the above comments... people do not have a clear understanding of the 911 fee.
I choose the opt-out for all 4 of my lines and I sent an email to all my friends and relatives encouraging them to opt out also. Hopefully the city council will see the confusion and panic it is causing Ventura residents. I have elderly (fixed income) family members that just don't get it (even after careful explanation)and have said they will not call 911 because they have been misinformed on the charges and feel they "can't afford it".
This is a sad reality that the city council feels they can overlook
SHAME ON YOU FOR PUSHING THIS TAX ON RESIDENTS!
IT IS A TAX ANYWAY YOU TRY TO SPIN IT!
Posted by henryv on March 20, 2008 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The purpose of this tax is to free up additinoal general fund money (since 911 won't be funded by general fund). Then there will be more money for city council to waste on other nonsense. The city needs to renegotiate the work schedules of Police and Fire personnel and put them on the street! Because of their cushy work schedules in reality we will BE LUCKY to have at least 1 of those "new cops" on the street. My cousin has inside knowledge of what goes on there - all the taxpayer waste $ and the arrogant attitudes of cops.
OPT OUT - this tax is unfair!
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