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History & Funding

The Arapahoe County 9-1-1 Authority was established in 1988 by an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Arapahoe County and its cities, municipalities, and fire protection districts. The Authority encompasses the entirety of Arapahoe County, excluding the section of the county located within Aurora. The Authority is a non-profit public entity constituted in accordance with 29-1-103, C.R.S., and 29-11-100.5 et seq., as well as the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act 24-10-101, C.R.S., et seq.

The Authority was established as a separate legal body to support the acquisition and maintenance of the 9-1-1 emergency telephone network. This service enables a more direct referral to the relevant public safety department. The participating public safety departments fund responses to 9-1-1 calls. Each IGA member is responsible for providing their respective dispatching services. The only employee of the Authority is the Executive Director.

Under the IGA, the Arapahoe County Commissioners appoint the Authority’s Board of Directors. The Directors serve on the Authority Board without compensation, while the County’s Finance Department oversees the budget and accounting functions. The Authority encompasses 717 square miles, services more than 320,000 residents, answers more than 175,000 9-1-1 calls annually, and handles more than 700,000 phone calls annually.

Annual Reports 

Funding

The 9-1-1 Network in Colorado is funded by surcharges on telephone bills, known as the Emergency Telephone Surcharge, which ranges from $70 per month in some Front Range counties to $3.00 per month in some rural Colorado counties. Surcharges are paid to the local Emergency Telephone Authority, which, intern pays the 9-1-1 Network service provider. An Emergency Telephone or 9-1-1 Authority is typically formed by an agreement between a county and the cities, towns, and fire districts within the county to fund the 9-1-1 Network and call processing costs. The Arapahoe County 9-1-1 Authority is required by statute to charge a monthly fee for these surcharges. This charge is set at a monthly rate, which is approved annually by the Public Utilities Commission. Rate requests that exceed the PUC’s approved limits can be issued a waiver with PUC approval. The Arapahoe County 911 Authority currently charges a surcharge of $0.70, one of the lowest rates in Colorado. The Authority’s surcharges are used to fund the County’s 9-1-1 telephone network. These funds are also used to support some of the operational needs of the county’s six 9-1-1 Centers (PSAP). The 9-1-1 Authority does not take or respond to 9-1-1 calls; rather, it establishes and maintains the technical infrastructure that public safety agencies rely on to respond to these critical incidents. Authority Budgets

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