Wisconsin began collecting a monthly surcharge on cell phone bills in December 2005 to pay for federally mandated "enhanced 911," which allows a 911 center to locate a cell phone equipped with Global Positioning System capability.

The surcharge ended July 1, four months ahead of schedule because the number of applications for grants to build the infrastructure had declined, according to the Public Service Commission. So far, the state has collected $83,064,916. The PSC has approved grants worth $87,416,554.39, including $34,808,239.52 to 68 counties and $52,608,314.87 to eight wireless phone companies.

The counties were reimbursed for enhanced 911 costs going back to 1999. The wireless companies also had to upgrade their cell phone towers and networks to accommodate the changes.

How much a county received depended on several factors, Public Service Commission spokesman Tim LeMonds said.

• Some counties had done more planning before grant applications were due on April 1, 2005, so they had a better sense of the total cost.
• Counties spent widely varying amounts to update mapping systems that pinpoint a cell phone call. The commission did not fund mapping projects in counties that had already spent money from fees on real estate filings or grants from the state land information board.
• Some counties sought reimbursement only for major direct costs. Others applied for as much as they could. Some applied for a second round of funding after reviewing other county requests.

Dane County received the least per person of all the counties that received money. That could suggest that other counties were further behind in updating their systems or didn't benefit from consolidated dispatch services that Dane County has, Dane County 911 operations manager Rich McVicar said.

County Grant $ per person

TOP 5 $ per person

Trempeleau $1,130,044.03 $40.63
Buffalo $522,730.78 $37.85
Pepin $209,056.99 $28.32
Bayfield $386,492.97 $25.70
Jackson $396,207.34 $19.95

BOTTOM 5 $ per person

St. Croix $253,074.87 $3.12
Waupaca $152,633.59 $2.93
Racine $424,812.80 $2.18
Marathon $262,950.85 $2.02
Dane $867,878.05 $1.82

OTHER COUNTIES

Dodge $1,163,935.49 $13.26
Sauk $436,405.94 $7.46
Columbia $386,110.30 $6.98
Rock $1,103,895.29 $6.92
Milwaukee $5,059,087.13 $5.32
Waukesha $1,469,044.60 $3.87

— Matthew DeFour