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ate actions to
raise fees in AFC to help offset the current revenue downturn. This will amount
to a 33% increase in AFC fees. That action will help return AFC revenues to
normal levels within the next few months, thereby, stabilizing the general
revenue cycle for the association.
Due to the shortfall in revenue, APCO staff has been reduced by four positions.
Budget will certainly be a topic in Salt Lake City.
Lynn Miles, APCO's conference manager has left APCO. Her replacement is Sandra
Graziano who previously served as Symposium Manager. We will, of course be
talking with Sandra as APCO considers returning to Texas in 2006.
President Galliger's recruiting challenge continues. Each Chapter has until
the closing banquet of the 67th Annual APCO Conference & Exposition to register
the most new members.
The Wireless Phase II deadline is rapidly approaching. Public Safety continues
to push for timely implementation. The wireless industry has initiated a
campaign to redirect the focus toward Public Safety indicating that PSAPS are
not preparing and will not be ready. On June 24, both NENA and APCO received a
letter from the President of CTIA. The letter was also disseminated to the
media. APCO has generated a response to this letter which reads as follows:
"JOINT STATEMENT OF APCO, NENA & NASNA
On June 24, 2001, the Boards of the Association of Public-Safety
Communications Officials-International, Inc. (APCO) and the National Emergency
Number Association (NENA) received a letter from Thomas Wheeler, President of
the Cellular Telephone and Internet Association (CTIA). The letter was
released by CTIA to the press, and was the subject of an address by a CTIA
official at the recently completed NENA Annual Conference in Orlando.
The leadership of APCO and NENA, along with the National Association of State
Nine One One Administrators (NASNA), are currently preparing a written response
to Mr. Wheeler's letter. In the meantime, APCO, NENA, and NASNA wish to make
clear that they were dismayed and offended by both the tone and the substance of
Mr. Wheeler's letter, which contains inaccurate statements, unfairly attacks the
integrity and commitment of public safety officials and agencies, and attempts
to shift the blame for the status of wireless E9-1-1 deployment from carriers to
PSAPs and the FCC. Mr. Wheeler's letter is also inconsistent with the more
cooperative nature of prior discussions between our organizations and most of
the major wireless carriers. Several of those carriers have indicated to us in
recent days that they strongly disagree with Mr. Wheeler's letter.
A formal response to Mr. Wheeler will be sent to him during the week of July
2."
The validity of PSAP requests are being challenged thus laying a foundation for further de
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