HEALDTON, Okla. -- When you need to dial 911, you don't think about how it works, you just expect help to respond. But voters in Healdton will soon be forced to think about the technical details of their emergency call system when they go to the polls on July 29.

How 911 calls are handled in Healdton has been an ongoing topic for some time. We know of at least two other instances when the question has appeared on the ballot and failed.

So what is the city using right now to answer 911 calls, and why does the county want them to switch over?

The unit at the center of the debate looks more like a vintage video game system, with a dated monochrome screen. When somebody calls 911 in Healdton from a landline, their name and address pops up for the dispatcher to see.

Critics say it is old technology, and that they cannot even make audio recordings of emergency calls. But longtime supporters of Healdton’s system say those shortcomings are exaggerated, and that the county 911 people are just after more money.

"The system that we have for dispatching when somebody calls 911, it is obsolete. They can't find parts for it. We have one dispatcher that also doubles as a jailer. If they're in the back, the phones might not get answered right away," Herb Collier with the Healdton Industrial Development Authority says.

If passed, the average Healdton home phone bill would increase about 19 cents per month.