BLUE STATE BLUES: N.J. took $1.4B from your phone bill for new 911 system but never delivered.
Rather than using the money for 911, lawmakers and governors have instead raided it time and again to balance the budget, leaving critical upgrades to the state’s most important public safety system on hold.
An NJ Advance Media analysis found that of the $1.37 billion the state has collected in 911 fees since 2004, only 15 percent, about $211 million, has been used to help pay for the 911 system.
Investment in the upgrade, known as NextGen 911, has trickled to a halt.
From 2005 to 2008, records show the state spent about $42 million on it. Since then, it has spent $71,652. In 2014, the most recent year available, it put just $9,141 of the $121 million it collected toward the upgrade.
“There are lives that have been lost because of this,” said Dominic Villecco, vice president for the New Jersey Wireless Association. “These funds are there to help save people’s lives.”
Why are Democrat-run states such cesspits of waste and lies?