New phone system at Sheriff’s Office up and running

New phone system at Sheriff’s Office up and running

Allen: ‘ It’s like night and day’

news@theeveningtimes.com

Employees at the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office won’t have to use their cell phones to call another employee in the building to let them know they have a call on another line anymore.

Sheriff Mike Allen said their new Shoretell IP Voice over phone system is now fully installed and is a much needed upgrade.

“It’s like night and day,” Allen said. “The transition was seamless and we are now operating on the new system.”

Allen got permission from the county in January to spend $46,000 on the new phones.

The new phone system provides voice and data services over a single, secure Internet network connection and has features such as voicemail, contacts, call history, and can be accessed remotely from any landline, phone, or PC.

The old phones were so outdated that employees couldn’t even transfer a call to another line in the building without hanging up and having to call that person back.

“The old system was like having a cell phone that was 20 years old,” Allen said. “This is a complete phone system.”

Allen said they did have to spend a little extra to put in new cables between the Detention Center and the 911 system which brought the total cost to $73,427, but added that the savings from the new system will pay for itself in two years.

The county will save $3,454 a month on its phone bill or $41,451 a year for a two year savings of $82,902.

“The system not only pays for itself, but we will have upgrades that will last for years,” Allen said. The funds for the upgrades came from the Sheriff’s Communication budget, not County General Fund and comes mainly from process serving fees.

By Mark Randall