Wired about wireless
Republican Guilford County commissioner Billy Yow has been barking up a storm (scroll to bottom) lately about county cell phone bills for commissioners and rank-and-file employees.
He says the county needs to find ways to save money on the handheld devices and hold users accountable for their calls. He even wanted to bar commissioners from using county-provided phones, but couldn't get a majority of the board to go along with him. Most of the board's Democrats carry county cell phones.
Scoop checked into it and found that the county's wireless communications bill has more than doubled over the past five years. In 2004-05, the county spent $475,577 spread over two wireless plans.
The county's overall budget, meanwhile, grew by about 18 percent from 2000-01 to 2004-05.
At its last meeting, the board ordered county manager Willie Best to draw up a cell-phone plan for the county and look at ways to save money on phone plans. That means we'll probably hear more about this soon.
Comments (2)
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There is a really simple fix for this. If your calls on your phone go over a certain percentage then you'll have to either move to a personal phone or give up your phone. I work for a telecommunications company that has a policy like that. It works fairly well. As a county phone, the county has a right to review ALL call logs from the wireless provider. It's pretty simple to see what is personal, and what isn't.
Posted on October 6, 2005 8:28 PM
One more thing:
""I'm sure I've made a call home, yeah," Davis said. "And I'll continue making calls home, as long as I'm working for the county and I'm out on the road and I'm trying to check in with my home."
He suggested that Yow mind his own business."
You know what? If there is a cell phone policy and they're not abiding by it, as a taxpayer, I'm sure not going to pay for his phone service.
I work across the country on my corporate phone, but when I'm roaming I don't make calls because company says we cannot unless emergency. If the county is the same way, I don't care if Bruce Davis is the Queen of England. Follow the rules. Like I said before, if you tally up the calls and they go over a percentage, I'd seriously pull the phones altogether. It's a privilege, not a right. Lot's of people do without.
Posted on October 6, 2005 8:35 PM