ALLENTOWN – Today, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and county officials met in Lehigh County to highlight the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to keep Pennsylvania communities safe through necessary investments in 911 centers in the 2025-26 Pennsylvania budget.
The heroes in our 911 centers rarely appear in the spotlight, but their impact is felt in every emergency response. They are the first connection to help when someone is facing their darkest moments. By investing in our 911 system, we strengthen the foundation of public safety across the Commonwealth.
— Randy Padfield, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director
A critical component of the budget investment in public safety is the reauthorization of the $1.95 monthly phone surcharge for 911 services, through Jan. 31, 2029. This surcharge is used to reduce the burden on counties to use property tax dollars to fund 911 center operations.
“With the 911 surcharge, we’ve been able to secure reliable, dedicated funding for our County’s 911 communication center,” said Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong. “Services continue to evolve, with new means to interact with 911, and it is our goal to provide variable services to ensure public safety. Public safety is enhanced with the 911 surcharge and that benefits the entire constituency. With acceptable levels of funding the County will continue to support staffing, upgrade equipment, and maintain high-quality service.”
The $1.95 fee helps cover county costs associated with 911 service such as personnel, technology, training, facilities as well as ongoing technology advancements and operations of the statewide Next Generation 911 system. In April 2025 the initial phase of the NG911 project was completed when all 61 Public Safety Answering Points were connected to the system. This initial phase modernized the infrastructure that delivers emergency calls to the answering points across Pennsylvania.
“Our 911 centers depend on dedicated, trained, professional dispatchers,” said Lehigh County 911 Director Don Smith. “Keeping turnover low by investing in our workforce through effective retention of current employees and recruitment of new employees strengthens our ability to serve the public reliably every time. Plus, the upgrade to Next Generation 911 empowers our team to do their jobs better, enhancing location accuracy and overall response times, quickly getting help to those in need.”
Next Generation 911 provides the backbone to deliver many of the services that callers expect from modern technologies, such as text-to-911 and improved caller location data. Plans to continue the improvement of 911 service in Pennsylvania include behind-the-scenes improvements and cost-saving measures, such as regionalization of services used by individual county 911 centers, better Geographic Information System data, and building out redundant systems to ensure seamless information sharing.
In 2023, Governor Shapiro signed Act 34, which extended the Commonwealth’s 911 program through Jan. 31, 2029. On March 1, 2024, the act increased the monthly phone surcharge from $1.65 to $1.95 per phone line through Jan. 31, 2026. The 2025-26 budget keeps the surcharge at $1.95 through Jan. 31, 2029. Over the first twelve months of the increase, the Commonwealth collected an additional $58 million, a nearly 18 percent revenue increase for 911 services. Below is a breakdown of where your $1.95 monthly surcharge dollars go:
- $1.62: Direct to cover costs for the 61 PSAPs serving Pennsylvania
- $0.29: NG911 Upgrades, PSAP Consolidations & Regionalization
- $0.04: PEMA Statewide 911 Program Administration
While technology improvements continue to benefit 911 centers statewide, telecommunicators are the most important component to the 911 system. Across the Commonwealth, one in five dispatcher positions are vacant. Now is an exciting time to explore a career as a 911 telecommunicator. These important positions typically offer applicants generous benefits, opportunities for advancement, and a rewarding experience while serving their communities. All necessary training is provided.