ATLANTA (AP) - Nearly $5 million in funding for Georgia 911 services disappeared this year, and no one has been able to explain exactly why.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the money came from a 75-cent fee on prepaid phones sold in Georgia, but it was never distributed to local emergency 911 agencies.
Cellphone carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon offer prepaid plans, which charge customers upfront for phones and data without a contract.
The newspaper reports that every county in Georgia received 25 percent less than it did last year.
The decline in funding for 911 agencies limits their ability to hire operators, reduce response times and upgrade technology.
The Georgia Department of Revenue declined to comment to the newspaper. A Georgia privacy law makes tax information a state secret.
