By Ann Cantrell
Staff Writer

    On January 15, at a work session for the Board of Commissioners, the board further discussed implementing Tier 2, a program designed to make locating individuals who dial 9-1-1 via wireless easier.
    Currently, when an individual makes a 9-1-1 call in the county, the responder only receives wireless phone number and phone tower. If he or she is unable to identify or describe their location, then it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the person.
    With the program, the responders should be able to identify the location of the individual within 300 to 500 yards.
    The program would apply an extra fee to each customer’s monthly bill. Currently a fee of $1 is added on to every bill and the program would possibly increase the fee to $1.50. This fee is already applied to monthly bills for landlines.
    Chairman Mack Bohlen stated that the user fee was needed to provide a better service for locating individuals in crisis situations.
    County Manager Michael Lamar, expressed a similar concern over the price of the user fee. He advocated that the county attempt to implement the program at a lower price if it would still be feasible.
    The plan is supposed to locate a person from between 300 to 500 yards; a distance which Andy Ainslie pointed out was still a relatively large area.