LOUISVILLE - An increase in emergency calls from cell phones over the past two years has overwhelmed some 911 centers in Kentucky, and funding for the centers isn't keeping up with the new workload.

        The centers funded with revenue from surcharges added to telephone bills, and surcharges are usually higher for landline phones than for cell phones.

        In some Kentucky counties, officials say they have seen increases of 40 percent or more in emergency 911 calls, which they attribute to the increase in the number of cell phones being used. With people switching from traditional landline phones to using only cell phones in some areas, the 911 centers face the problem of handling more work with less money, The Courier-Journal reported in Sunday's editions.

        The General Assembly will examine the adequacy of funding for emergency call centers when it reconvenes in January.

        The high volume of calls can be a problem when someone with a serious medical emergency tries to reach operators who are swamped, for example, with a dozen cell calls about a single fender-bender. Operators answer every call as quickly as they can and then try to determine which need priority attention.

        “Everyone's emergency is an emergency to them, so you have to pick the most severe,” said Sam Bard, president of the Kentucky Emergency Number Association.

        Eventually, emergency calls could go unanswered in some places if funding for the 911 centers doesn't keep pace with the increasing volume, officials say.

        “Cell phones are giving every call center across Kentucky more work to do,” and the revenue isn't covering the cost, said Mr. Bard.

        So far, operators haven't reported problems in getting emergency information to police, fire and emergency medical crews because of the cell phone overload, but they worry that it could happen.

        Kentucky's cell phone surcharge, set by the General Assembly and put into effect in August 1998, is 70 cents a month. Landline surcharges, authorized by the legislature in 1984 with the amount set locally, range from 66 cents to $3.50 a month.

        Some 95 percent of landline surcharges go to the 911 centers, but the centers get only about half of the cell phone surcharges, and use of the cell phone money is restricted to equipment upgrades. The funding cannot be spent on operational expenses; landline surcharge revenues don't have that restriction.

        Emergency operators in 60 of Kentucky's 120 counties have the technology to answer cellular 911 calls.

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