Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden has been appointed as a member of the newly
created 911 Strike Force by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The strike force will study and address the ongoing issue of 911 diversion fees, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
“As the Monmouth County sheriff, I take great pride in serving as part of this newly created
strike force and look forward to actively participating and representing the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the 911 Communications Center, the largest shared service in the county,” Golden said.
“I thank the FCC for its dedication to taking action in creating this advisory committee to end diversion fees. This will help ensure that funding will be spent on upgrading 911 systems, which will enhance the safety and well-being of our residents during emergencies,” he said.
“America’s 911 system needs an update for the digital age,” FCC Acting Chairwoman
Jessica Rosenworcel said. “But as we have seen, 911 fee diversion can shortchange public safety by delaying those updates.
“I am happy the strike force will soon be getting to work on ideas that will help ensure the fees American consumers pay to support 911 will go to 911. … I look forward to (the strike force’s) work and your findings,” she said.
As stated by the FCC, the 911 Strike Force will study how the federal government can most expeditiously end diversion of 911 fees and charges by states and other taxing jurisdictions (911 fee diversion).
In carrying out this study, the 911 Strike Force will determine the effectiveness of any
federal laws, including regulations, policies and practices, or budgetary or jurisdictional
constraints regarding how the federal government can most expeditiously end 911 fee diversion; consider whether criminal penalties would further prevent 911 fee diversion; and determine the impacts of 911 fee diversion, according to the press release.
The Monmouth County 911 Communications Division currently dispatches for 26 law
enforcement agencies, 83 fire departments, 40 first aid squads and answers 911 call for 50 of the county’s 53 municipalities with a staff of 130.
In 2020, the 911 Communications Center processed 742,211 calls. The Communications Division is nationally accredited by the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement, according to the press release.