BATON ROUGE - A proposal to increase phone fees to better accommodate the cost of running East Baton Rouge's 911 services was approved Wednesday.

More tonight at 6:00 on WBRZ

The East Baton Rouge Communications District held a special board meeting May 31 to decide on the increase. The new rate, approved in a 5-1 vote, was set to be applied on starting June 1, though officials say it could take a bit longer to officially roll out.

The change amounts to an annual increase of $4.32 per residential landline, $5.88 per business landline and $4.80 per wireless connection. 

According to the Communications District, the volume of 911 calls in the parish increased by 62 percent from 2019 through 2022. The last increase for the 911 service fee was in 2005. 

You can read more on the increase here