JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Berquist came to the Stutsman County Commission meeting Tuesday with information regarding the recent cable cut that affected communities from Jamestown to Fargo last week.

Bergquist stated that the cut affected the area for nearly 11 hours as crews with CenturyLink worked to restore service. He says there was also meant to be work to establish inter-connectivity the next day.

Bergquist says the following day August 15th, Dakota Central Telecommunications reported that the interconnect had been completed. He says the next time a cable cut occurs, Jamestown should not experience any outages.

Later, Bergquist brought forth a proposal to increase the 911 service fees in Stutsman County and place a measure on the upcoming General Election ballot.

Bergquist says the cost to operate annually for the Stutsman County Communications Center is approximately $650,000. Currently, the fee is just $1 on landline phones and contract cellphones. If the 50-cent increase to $1.50 is approved by voters in November, it would raise $130,000 in extra revenue to help fund the center.

Bergquist says 22 other counties in the state have already increased their fees to $1.50 as well.

Audio courtesy of Stutsman County.