The new fee scale would have raised the monthly charges to $2 for residential land lines, $3 for commercial land lines and $1.26 for wireless phones.
New Orleans voters overwhelmingly refused Saturday to increase the fees local customers pay on their phone bills to support the Orleans Parish Communication District, the agency that operates the city's 911 emergency phone system. The package of new and increased fees, taking effect Jan. 1, would have boosted the OPCD's annual revenue to about $7.5 million a year, up from a little under $5 million at present.
Officials said the money would have paid for upgrades to the 911 system and consolidating personnel who now work for four different agencies.
In much of the parish, this was the only item on the ballot, and turnout was very low.
At present, the OPCD is authorized to levy charges of $1 a month on each residential land line and $2 a month on each commercial land line. It also receives 85 cents a month for each wireless line.
The new fee scale would have raised the monthly charges to $2 for residential land lines, $3 for commercial land lines and $1.26 for wireless phones. There also would have been new charges of $2 a month for a residential Voice Over Internet Protocol connection and $3 a month for a commercial VOIP connection.
Even the higher fees would not have been enough to cover the actual cost of operating the 911 center. That cost is about $13 million annually, officials said.