Denver 911 considers surcharge hike to improve response time

• The fee generated nearly $11.6 million in revenue last year, per city documents.

Why it matters: Proponents say the increase will pay for staffing improvements and infrastructure costs for a critical service with a recent record of poor response times.

How it works: The surcharge is paid by phone lines, including land and wireless lines.

State of play: The additional money would pay for hiring at least 41 more full-time staff and infrastructure like a new phone system, Denver 911 director Andrew Dameron told council members on Wednesday.

• Dameron said the city is "pretty overdue" for a rate increase, which last occurred in 2019.

Context: Emergency response times aren't meeting national standards. Only 71% of calls were answered within 15 seconds from May 2023 to March 2024, per a December report from the Denver Auditor's Office.

• That was far below the national standard, which calls for answering 90% of calls within 15 seconds or less.

By the numbers: Denver 911 receives more than 40,000 calls a month for police, fire, and medical services, per the auditor's report.

What's next The fee could take effect as soon as June 1 if the Denver City Council approves the proposal, which could happen this month.