O'Rielly Applauds Guam Vow to Restore Diverted 911 Funds
A Guam finding that the territory wrongly diverted about $3.9 million in 911 fee revenue to unrelated purposes got kudos Monday from FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “This should allow necessary system improvements and upgrades,” including Guam’s reported inability to record…
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911 calls (see 1811270016), O’Rielly emailed us. “Hopefully, this will also provide impetus to the habitual diverting states of New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey to take corrective measures.” Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero (D), who recently began her first term, reportedly pledged last week to return the sum to the territory’s 911 fund. “We have to follow the law,” and 911 upgrades are coming, she told the Pacific Daily News, after the Public Utilities Commission’s Jan. 17 order finding four diversions of 911 funding for FY 2014-17 violated Guam law and ordering government return the funds within 120 days. Such funding was never intended for spending “other than those directly related to the operation and maintenance of the 911 system,” the PUC order said. States and territories diverted nearly 10 percent of $2.9 billion in 911 fee revenue for unrelated purposes in 2017, the FCC has found (see 1812190059).