US:PA-4: Q about applying for USF discounts within a non-eligible municipal aggregate group

Q about applying for USF discounts within a non-eligible municipal aggregate group

L Tynan, Montgomery Cty-Norristown Lib (ltynan@mclinc.org)
Tue, 7 Oct 1997 14:36:44 -0400 

The Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library, and several of the local
libraries in the district, get their "plain old telephone service" through
municipalities (for example: Montgomery County operates a CENTREX system
that includes the county library, several local libraries are in township
buildings where the library phones are a branch of the phone system
throughout the municipal building).  In these cases, libraries do not
receive invoices for telephone service directly from the phone companies. 
The municipality receives the bill and may charge back the portion of the
service cost to the library "cost center" as an internal accounting
procedure.   

Municipal governments are not eligible to apply for USF discounts; however,
the libraries would be eligible entities.  If the entity that contracts for
the phone service is a county or a township, would those municipalities
have to file some type of application in order for their library to receive
the discount?  If so, would the municipal government have to jump through
all the hoops (writing a technology plan, posting bid specs on a website,
etc.) that libraries and schools must negotiate?    I'm wondering whether
some libraries that are included in these types of aggregate groups will
have trouble getting their municipality to pay attention to the
requirements of the USF process.  How much information have municipalities
other than school districts been given about this new program?  Is there a
need to inform county commissioners, township supervisors, city managers,
and other elected/appointed officials about this so that they can cooperate
with their librarians in meeting the certification requirements needed to
get the discount on the library portion of shared telephone service?

Laurie Tynan, Executive Director
Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library
1001 Powell St., Norristown, PA.  19401-3817
voice tel: (610) 278-5100, x 37; fax: (610) 277-0344; email:
LTYNAN@MCLINC.ORG