Clark County to Implement Phone Surcharge for 911 Upgrades, Starting April 2026

Clark County will introduce a new monthly surcharge on phone lines beginning Apr. 1, aimed at strengthening emergency communications and preventing future 911 outages. The surcharge will add $0.50 per month to every cell phone line and landline with a Clark County billing address, even if the number carries a different area code. The fee will increase by $0.10 each year until it reaches $1 per line.

Businesses using trunk lines or private branch exchange systems will incur a separate $5 charge per trunk. These systems are typically identified by the need to dial 9 to reach an outside line. Large facilities, including major resorts such as the Palazzo, operate multiple switchboards and would be subject to the per-trunk charge. Phone service providers will determine how the surcharge appears on customer bills.

Revenue from the surcharge will fund Clark County's 5-Year Master Plan to modernize its 911 system and support the transition to NextGeneration 911. The plan projects more than $177.8 million in infrastructure and technology costs between 2026 and 2030. County officials have indicated the surcharge could be reduced in the future if revenue targets are met ahead of schedule.

“Digitally, we can use the ‘cloud' to make sure that we're getting those services met and that we're getting those calls coming in,” Clark County Fire Chief Billy Samuels said. The former CFO of LVMPD told FOX5 that three streams of “connectivity” ensure that, if one stream goes down, the remaining two keep the system operational.

The funding push follows an April 2024 911 outage caused by a fiber optic cut that disrupted service at a regional call center serving the area. The incident exposed weaknesses in the current technology infrastructure and underscored the need for backup systems and newer technology, according to officials.

“Time matters. It really does. The quicker we can get on scene, whether it's the fire side or EMS side, to help that medical patient or even law enforcement to get there a little bit quicker, to mitigate that issue that they're addressing... and we should have that,” Chief Samuels said.