911 SURCHARGE

The City of Chicago currently imposes a monthly 911 surcharge on prepaid wireless
services of 9.0%. The surcharge revenue is used to fund 911 operations as well as anti-
terrorism and emergency preparedness activities undertaken by the OEMC.

Ordinance Change to Ensure Ongoing Revenue to Support 911 Operations:

Per State authorization and City Council approval, the Citys 911 surcharge was increased
from 7.0% to 9.0% for prepaid services in the fall of 2014.

The State statute states that the maximum authorized rate will go down from 9.0% to 7.0%
effective July 1, 2017. The General Assembly has passed legislation that reauthorizes the
9.0% surcharge. If the legislation does not become law by July 1, the City will be authorized
to only impose a 7.0% surcharge. However, City ordinance only allows the imposition of
the surcharge at the 9.0%.

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) collects the 911 surcharge on prepaid wireless
services on behalf of Chicago. In order to continue collecting the surcharge, IDOR is
requiring that City ordinance clearly allow for the collection of the lower 7.0% rate. To
ensure there is not a lapse in collection, the proposed ordinance authorizes the collection at
7.0% or 9.0% on prepaid services, depending on whether the legislation pending at the
State becomes effective by July 1, 2017.

911 Emergency Operations and Public Safety Coordination:

The City collects approximately $120 million in revenue annually from the 911 surcharge;
$10 million of which comes from prepaid wireless. This revenue supports OEMCs
operations and pays debt service on the 911 center.

OEMC operates one of the largest 911 centers in the United States and the largest in Illinois.
The surcharge revenue is critical to funding this operation, including:

Chicagos emergency services answering point and 911 operations for 2.6 million
residents, millions of people who work in Chicago, and tens of millions of visitors
each year;
Employs 650 call takers and dispatchers located at the main 911 Operations Center,
the Alternate Response Section, and both OHare and Midway airports;
Ensures OEMC dispatchers are able to answer approximately 5 million emergency
calls annually or over 13,000 calls per day from Chicago residents, visitors, and
individuals working in Chicago, more than four times larger than the next largest
system in Illinois.

Along with supporting 911 dispatch operations, OEMC manages a citywide network of
29,000 closed circuit cameras, 25,000 radios, thousands of mobile devices and data
terminals which helps coordinate police and fire response and provides real-time
intelligence during emergency situations.