MONMOUTH COUNTY – The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office announced that Sheriff Shaun Golden has been appointed as a member of the newly created 911 Strike Force by the Federal Communications Commission.
The 911 Strike Force studies how the federal government can efficiently end diversion of 911 fees and charges by states and other taxing jurisdictions, according to the FCC.
In this new role, Golden will study and address the ongoing issue of 911 diversion fees.
“As the Monmouth County Sheriff, I take great pride in serving as part of this newly created strike force and look forward to actively participating and representing the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the 911 Communications Center, the largest shared service in the county,” Golden said. “I thank the FCC for its dedication to taking action in creating this advisory committee to end diversion fees. This will help ensure that funding will be spent on upgrading 911 systems, which will enhance the safety and well-being of our residents during emergencies.”
“America’s 911 system needs an update for the digital age,” FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “But as we’ve seen, 911 fee diversion can shortchange public safety by delaying those updates. I am happy that the Strike Force will soon be getting to work on ideas that will help ensure that the fees that American consumers pay to support 911 will go to 911. Thank you to Kelli Merriweather for agreeing to lead this group, and welcome to all of the new 911 Strike Force members. I look forward to your work and your findings.”
Currently, Monmouth County’s 911 Communications Division dispatches for 26 law enforcement agencies, 83 fire departments, 40 first aid squads and answers 911 calls for 50 of the 53 municipalities with a staff of 130. Over 740,000 calls were processed through the 911 Communications Center in 2020.
To learn more about the 911 Strike Force, visit fcc.gov/911strikeforce.
