A. Any fee imposed pursuant to Section 2814 of this title and the amounts required to be collected are due monthly. The amount of fee collected in one (1) month by the local exchange telephone company shall be remitted to the governing body no later than thirty (30) days after the close of the month in which such fees were collected. In the event the fee collected is not remitted by the local exchange telephone company or by a competitive local exchange company, as both are defined in Section 139.102 of Title 17 of the Oklahoma Statutes, to the governing body within thirty (30) days after the close of the month in which such fees were collected, then the local exchange telephone company shall remit a penalty to the governing body. The penalty shall be equal to ten percent (10%) of the original unremitted fee, payable on the first day of each month the fee remains delinquent. All fees collected by the local exchange telephone company and remitted to the governing body and any other money collected to fund the emergency telephone system shall be deposited in a special nine-one-one account established by the governing body, and shall be used only to fund the expenditures authorized by the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Act. The governing body shall account for all disbursements from the account and shall not allow the funds to be transferred to another account not specifically established for the operation of the emergency telephone system.

B. On or before the last day of each month, a return for the preceding month shall be filed with the governing body in a form the governing body and the local exchange telephone company agree to. The local exchange telephone company required to file the return shall deliver the return together with a remittance of the amount of the fee payable to the treasurer or other person responsible to the governing body for receipt of payments from the fee. The local exchange telephone company shall maintain records of the amount of any fee collected in accordance with the provisions of the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Act. The records shall be maintained for a period of one (1) year from the time the fee is collected.

C. From every remittance of the collected fee to the governing body made on or before the date when the same becomes due, the local exchange telephone company required to remit the fee shall be entitled to deduct and retain for administrative costs, an amount not to exceed three percent (3%) of the first five percent (5%) of the emergency telephone fee.

D. At least once each calendar year, the governing body shall establish the fee for the subsequent year in an amount not to exceed the amount approved by the voters as provided by the provisions of Section 2814 of this title that, together with any surplus revenues, will produce sufficient revenues to fund the expenditures authorized by the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Act. Amounts collected in excess of that necessary within a given year shall be carried forward to subsequent years. The governing body shall make the determination of the fee amount no later than September 1 of each year and shall fix the new fee to take effect commencing with the first billing period of each service user on or following the next January 1. Immediately upon making its determination and fixing the fee, the governing body shall publish in its minutes the new fee, and it shall, at least ninety (90) days before the new fee shall become effective, notify by certified mail every local exchange telephone company providing emergency telephone service to areas within the jurisdiction of the governing body. The governing body may at its own expense require an annual audit of the books and records of the local exchange telephone company concerning the collection and remittance of the fee authorized by the Nine-One-One Emergency Number Act.

E. The governing body shall be required to have conducted separately or as a part of the annual audit required by law of the municipality or county an annual audit of any accounts established or used by the governing body for the operation of an emergency telephone system. The audit may be conducted by the State Auditor and Inspector at the discretion of the governing body. All audits shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. A copy of the audit shall be filed with the State Auditor and Inspector and action taken in accordance with Section 212A of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The audit of the emergency telephone system accounts may be paid for and be considered a part of the operating expenses of the emergency telephone system.

F. The governing body shall meet at least quarterly to oversee the operations of the emergency telephone system, review expenditures, set and approve an operating budget and take such other action as necessary for the operation and management of the system. The records and meetings of the governing body shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

G. A governing body made up of two or more governmental entities shall have a board consisting of not less than three members; provided, the board shall consist of at least one member representing each governmental entity, appointed by the governing body of each participating governmental entities, as set forth in the agreement forming the board. The members shall serve for terms of not more than three (3) years as set forth in the agreement. Members may be appointed to serve more than one term. The names of the members of the governing body board and the appointing authority of each member shall be maintained in the office of the county clerk in the county or counties in which the system operates, along with copies of the agreement forming the board and any amendments to that agreement.

Added by Laws 1986, c. 230, § 5, emerg. eff. June 10, 1986. Amended by Laws 1988, c. 130, § 4, emerg. eff. April 13, 1988; Laws 1995, c. 350, § 3, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 2002, c. 192, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2002.