Sec.28-24-3a. Subsidization of regional PSAPs, multi-town PSAPs, and funded entities

(a) In order to be eligible for subsidies from the Enhanced 9-1-1 Telecommunications Fund, regional PSAPs and multi-town PSAPs shall:

(1) Have a representative board in place and operating;

(2) Have contracts with each member town or city that shall provide for the appointment of voting representatives from each town to the representative board;

(3) Provide copies of the contracts described in subdivision (2) of this subsection to the Division upon request; and

(4) Have a chief administrative officer and a chief financial officer. The chief financial officer shall give a surety bond in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars.

(b) Any entity provided with subsidy or grant funds shall be audited in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-230 to 4-236, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes. Regional PSAPs and stand-alone multi-town PSAPs shall have an independent auditor perform a financial audit annually that complies with the requirements for a single audit, as defined in section 4-230 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Program audits shall not be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of this subsection. All audits shall encompass the operations and activities of the complete entity.

(c) Regional PSAPs, multi-town PSAPs and funded entities shall provide annual reports to the Division not later than February 1st of each year. The report shall set forth, in a format prescribed by the Division, a detailed statement consisting of the following:

(1) The proposed annual operating budget for the fiscal year, starting the following July 1st.  For regional PSAPs and stand-alone multi-town PSAPs, the submitted budget shall be the entire budget for the entity;

(2) A copy of the most recent audit required by subsection (b) of this section;

(3) Documentation of expenditures of state funds provided under sections 28-24-1a to 28-24-12a, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies during the previous fiscal year ending June 30th;

(4) For regional PSAPs and stand-alone multi-town PSAPs, documentation identifying the chief administrative officer and the chief financial officer;

(5) Identification of any secondary PSAPs or secondary dispatch points used by the PSAP;

(6) Documentation of the process by which the PSAP provides emergency medical dispatch services, including identification of any secondary dispatch points or PSAPs used to deliver such services; and

(7) Documentation regarding any changes to the information in the PSAP’s 9-1-1 service utilization plan, or confirmation that there have been no changes to the plan.

(d) The Division shall make payments of subsidies in equal quarterly payments, not later than thirty days prior to the start of the quarter. The Division shall make payments in accordance with the funding formula established in subsection (i) of this section. Not later than sixty days after the end of each quarter, each regional PSAP, multi-town PSAP or funded entity shall submit a financial report of the expenses of the previous quarter to the Division. The Division may withhold quarterly payments if financial reports are not submitted.

(e) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, any funds issued at the beginning of a quarter, and not expended by a regional PSAP, multi-town PSAP or funded entity during that quarter, shall be applied toward future allocations.

(f) Funds provided to regional PSAPs, multi-town PSAPs or funded entities shall be used exclusively for the purpose of providing emergency telecommunications services. The Division shall provide policy guidance regarding the appropriate use of 9-1-1 funds.  In no case shall funds be used for the following purposes:

(1) Purchase or leasing of real estate or vehicles; or

(2) Expenditures not related to public safety emergency telecommunications.

(g) In no case shall the state provide funding in excess of one hundred percent of the operational requirements of a regional PSAP, multi-town PSAP or funded entity. A regional PSAP, multi-town PSAP or funded entity shall refund any subsidy in excess of one hundred percent of operational requirements, provided in any given fiscal year, to the State of Connecticut, Office of the State Treasurer, for deposit in the Enhanced 9-1-1 Telecommunications Fund.

(h) The annual subsidies to regional PSAPs, multi-town PSAPs and funded entities shall be based upon:

(1) A one-time calculation establishing the population value (variable Pv).  Variable Pv is a one-time calculation derived by taking the total annual subsidy paid by the Division for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 to all regional PSAPs in existence on that date, multiplying by 0.25, and dividing the product by the aggregate population of the towns or cities served by all regional PSAPs in existence on June 30, 2019, based upon the population figures from the Department of Public Health on December 31, 2018;

(2) A one-time calculation establishing the call value (variable Cv) derived by taking the total annual subsidy paid by the Division for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 to all regional PSAPs in existence on that date, multiplying by 0.75, and dividing the product by the number of 9-1-1 calls received for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2019 at all regional PSAPs in existence on June 30, 2019;

(3) Beginning July 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, variable Pv and variable Cv will each be increased by the average growth rate (if any) of the Consumer Price Index over the previous three calendar years, as recorded by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), Unadjusted;

(4) The aggregate population (variable “Pop”) of the towns or cities served by the PSAP, based upon the most recent year-end population figures from the Department of Public Health;

(5) The number of 9-1-1 calls received on an annual basis (variable “Calls”) by the PSAP, averaged over the most recent three calendar years;

(6) A multiplier of 0.333 shall be applied to a funded entity, 0.666 shall be applied to a multi-town PSAP, and 1.0 shall be applied to a regional PSAP.

(7) The “Pop” and “Calls” values for any member town or city of a PSAP which utilizes a secondary answering point shall not be included in the PSAP totals for the purpose of calculating subsidies.

(8) For towns or cities exclusively served by the Connecticut State Police for law enforcement purposes and participating in a regional PSAP, credit shall be granted for the police dispatch service.

(9) When a town or city joins an existing regional PSAP, or joins a multi-town PSAP, thereby creating a new regional PSAP, or when three or more towns and cities create a new regional PSAP, the “Calls” value shall be the number of 9-1-1 calls received on an annual basis by that PSAP or those PSAPs, averaged over the most recent three calendar years.

(i) The PSAP funding formulas shall be as follows:

(1) For funded entities, the total equals the sum of Pop times Pv plus Calls times Cv, multiplied by 0.333. Therefore, the total for a funded entity = [(Pop * Pv) + (Calls * Cv)] * 0.333.

(2) For multi-town PSAPs, the total equals Pop times Pv plus Calls times Cv, multiplied by 0.666. Therefore, the total for a multi-town PSAP = [(Pop * Pv) + (Calls * Cv)] * 0.666;

(3) For regional PSAPs, the total equals Pop times Pv plus Calls times Cv. Therefore, the total for a regional PSAP = [(Pop * Pv) + (Calls * Cv)] * 1.0;

(4) When towns or cities with a population of 40,000 or more join or create a regional or multi-town PSAP, the contribution of that town or city to the regional PSAP or multi-town PSAP subsidy shall be calculated using the multiplier of 0.333.

Example 1, a regional PSAP: The Pv calculation has a value of $1.87 and Cv has a value of $14.83. The sum of the towns’ populations is 45,021, and the sum of the 9-1-1 calls for the three towns, averaged over the past three years, is 13,090. Using the formula the subsidy would be:

[(45,021*$1.87) + (13,090 * $14.83)]*1.0 = $278,314.

Example 2, application of CPI to Example 1: If a three year increase in the CPI is 6.22 per cent, the average increase is 2.07 per cent, which results in a multiplier of 1.0207 applied to Pv and Cv. Pv is now $1.91, Cv is now $15.14. The calculated subsidy would be:

[(45,021 * $1.91) + (13,090 * $15.14)]*1.0 = $284,173

Example 3, a multi-town PSAP: The Pv calculation has a value of $1.87 and Cv has a value of $14.83. The sum of the two towns’ populations is 55,000, and the sum of the 9-1-1 calls for the three towns, averaged over the past three years, is 17,140.  Using the formula the subsidy would be: [(55,000*$1.87) + (17,140 * $14.83)] * 0.666 = $237,786.

Example 4, a multi-town PSAP with one member town over 40,000 population: The Pv calculation has a value of $1.87 and Cv has a value of $14.83.  Town “A” is currently a funded entity with a population of 62,000, with a three-year average of 20,700 9-1-1 calls.  Each town’s contribution shall be calculated separately. The calculation for Town “A” would be:

[(62,000 * $1.87) + (20,700 * $14.83)] * 0.333 = $140,833

Town “B” is not a funded entity.  Its population is 28,000 and its three-year 9-1-1 call average is 9,300. The calculation for Town “B” would be: [(28,000 * $1.87) + (9,300 * $14.83)] * 0.666) = $126,726

Therefore, the total for this multi-town PSAP would be $267,559

Example 5, a funded entity: The Pv calculation has a value of $1.87 and Cv has a value of $14.83. The city’s population is 88,500, and the 9-1-1 call average over three years is 34,269. Using the formula the subsidy would be: [(88,500 * $1.87) + (34,269 * $14.83)] * 0.333 = $224,344

(j) If the calculation of the subsidy defined in this section would result in a lower subsidy to a PSAP than that received immediately prior to July 1, 2020, then the Division shall continue to pay the subsidy in effect on June 30, 2020 (the “holdover subsidy”).

(1) The calculation of the cost-of-living adjustment described in subdivision (3) of subsection (h) in this section shall apply to the holdover subsidy.

(2) PSAPs receiving holdover subsidy payments shall have their funding reduced if a member town or city designates another PSAP as the recipient of their 9-1-1 calls or for the provision of required services.  Reductions shall be based upon the requirements in subsections (h) and (i) of this section. Regional PSAPs losing all but two of their member towns or cities shall revert to multi-town status without holdover subsidy payments, and PSAPs losing all but one of their member towns or cities will revert to funded entity status without holdover subsidy payments, if the population of the remaining town or city is forty thousand or more.  If the Division determines that a single-town PSAP has a population below forty thousand when determining subsidies for the following year, such single-town PSAP shall not be eligible for a subsidy in such year.

(3) Regional PSAPs receiving holdover subsidy payments shall have their subsidy funding increased for any new member town or city. Increases shall be based upon the calculations of subsection (i) in this section, and added to the current amount of the holdover subsidy then in effect for that regional PSAP; and

(4) Calculations for capital grants or any other payments that are dependent on the subsidy payment amount shall be calculated using the holdover subsidy amount then in effect plus any additions as a result of the operation of subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(k) A new multi-town PSAP, formed by two towns, two cities or a town and city that are part of an existing regional PSAP, shall be eligible for 9-1-1 funding after a three-year period. Such three-year period shall commence on the date that the new multi-town PSAP begins receiving 9-1-1 calls.

(l) Subsidies to towns or cities with populations in excess of forty thousand shall be given only as a funded entity.

(Effective July 1, 2020)