The McHenry County Board this week delayed spending $50,000 for an upgrade to its telephone system as required by state law.
Instead, the board decided to throw the matter back to its Management Services Committee for reconsideration. That committee could decide to send the matter to the board’s Legislative Committee to ask area legislators to rewrite or throw out the law.
Senate Bill 149 requires all public and private employers with buildings of more than 40,000 square feet to install telephone equipment capable of showing police, fire and rescue dispatchers where in a building a 911 call originates. Dispatchers now see a building’s address. The equipment must be installed by June 30.
Area safety experts, including the chairman of the McHenry County Emergency-911 Telephone System Board, have said the telephone equipment costs too much when measured against the small improvements in emergency service that would result. County Board members agreed.
“I have no desire to support and pay for stupid legislation,” said County Board member Ann Gilman. “It’s unnecessary. We need to be protecting businesses and local governments from this kind of legislation.”
Gilman said local governments and county businesses will end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to comply with the law.
“Sometimes we’ve got to put our foot down and say to legislators, `You’ve got to watch what you’re mandating,’ ” said County Board member Donald Brewer.
The county plans to set aside the $50,000 in case the law stands.
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County Administrator Alfred Johnson said the board will have to decide by February.