Chester County to seek audit of 9-1-1 fees

Posted by Press Release on August 19, 2015

The Chester County Board of Commissioners introduced a resolution at its Sunshine Meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18, that authorizes a legal review and forensic audit to determine whether telephone companies that provide service in Chester County have failed to bill, collect and remit the proper 9-1-1 charges that help fund Chester County’s 9-1-1 operations.

The resolution, set to be approved at next week’s commissioners’ meeting, could lead to a formal legal complaint against the telephone companies to recover such unbilled, unremitted 9-1-1 fees, a county press release said.

A preliminary assessment of the telephone operators’ conduct suggests that under-billing may amount to more than $6.5 million annually. The commissioners are authorizing the investigation by the law firm of Dilworth Paxson LLP, and the telecommunications auditing firm, Phone Recovery Services LLC, of six years of potential under-billing, which could total up to $40 million in lost funds.

This move by the Chester County Commissioners is one of a number of actions against telephone service providers being taken by commissioners throughout the state.

The majority of the under-billing affects medium- to large-business customers. According to research by Phone Recovery Services, single residential lines are being properly assessed.

Chester County spent a total of $14.1 million to support its 9-1-1 system in 2014, with $7.2 million coming from 9-1-1 fees assessed by the telephone service providers, and $6.9 million coming from the county’s property tax.