The board of commissioners unanimously approved including the proposal on the upcoming election’s ballot, which specifically seeks to increase the current surcharge of $2.50 to $3 monthly on every landline, cell phone and voice-over-internet-protocol device registered within Grand Traverse County.
According to the county’s 911 and Central Dispatch Director Corey LeCureux, the surcharge accounts for the department’s entire operating budget, serving all fire and emergency medical services, law enforcement and the City of Traverse City.
The ballot proposal recommendation was presented to commissioners at their April 14 meeting following a state-required authorization to approve the $2.50 surcharge through June 30, 2027.
If voters approve the increase, it would take effect on July 1, 2027, adding an estimated $580,000 to $700,000 annually to the Central Dispatch budget.
“When the voters approved the surcharge in 2020, it is set to expire in 2027 on that June 30 date,” LeCureux said, noting the increase would be set for a 10-year period. “This would mean an extra 50 cents per month for every device that is registered in Grand Traverse County.”
The surcharge began at $1.85 per device in 2015 until voters approved the 2020 increase to $2.50, which funded the 911 department’s technology upgrades and increased staffing.
“This would just be a normal continuation of that cycle of increases as everything is more expensive and, plus, we have some major projects going on right now,” LeCureux said.
One of the major projects includes the county’s expansion of its LaFranier Road campus in Garfield Township, referred to as “Project Alpha.” Central Dispatch is helping fund the county’s financial share of the new Emergency Communications and Operations Center, which is one of two new buildings set to begin construction this summer.
Another reason for the surcharge increase includes upgrading law enforcement radio equipment to meet the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s new encryption requirements.
Radio updates are also needed for fire and emergency medical services, which the director said would reach their end-of-life this year.
“All those things are coming down the line, I think we’ll be able to creatively pay for those things, but it would completely eliminate our fund balance,” LeCureux said.
The director said if voters approve the surcharge raise, it would allow Central Dispatch to cover the financial committments coming up and allow the department to maintain “a healthy fund balance.”
Central Dispatch doesn’t have a departmental fund balance policy, LeCureux noted, saying they instead follow the county’s general fund balance policy, which requires 30 percent of operating costs.
“Spending fluctuates, but we’ve also noticed that, in 2022 and 2023, the surcharge was going up exponentially and it has settled out and plateaued at this point,” LeCureux said. “It took a little dip in 2024 and it’s basically the same as of 2025.”
The surcharge’s fluctuation depends on a few factors, LeCuruex explained, including what he described as “wire cutting.”
Most people, businesses included, are cutting their phone use in half and choosing to go with either just a cell phone or landline. Many households are also cutting costs by choosing family plans, which is billed to the address of the plan’s owner, who may not reside in Grand Traverse County.
If the billed address is outside of the county or Michigan, that surcharge isn’t coming back to the county, LeCureux said.
Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
© 2026 The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
