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County set to upgrade phones
AUBURN - It may not be using rotary phones, but Cayuga County is in need of a technology upgrade.
That''s the sentiment of Information Technologies Director Steve Johnson and Matthew Crider, partner and vice president of ECC Technologies in Fairport, both of whom have been working on a major overall of the county''s telecommunications system.
"We''re replacing phones that are literally 20 years old," Crider said Monday following a meeting of the Cayuga County Legislature''s Ways and Means Committee.
The committee unanimously approved two resolutions related to the project, estimated to cost about $530,000. The upgrades will save the county roughly $50,000 per year, Crider said, noting that number is conservative.
That savings will come as a result of switching to a private, county-owned telephone system. The county currently contracts with Verizon Centrex and has 600 phones at 12 locations, Crider said.
Under the new system, the county will be able to do upgrades and maintenance in-house, Johnson added.
The telecommunications project will also convert the phones from standard ones that plug into jacks to VoIP, or voice-over Internet protocol, whereby the phones plug directly into the computer network.
This will bring the county up to the telecommunication industry''s current standards, Crider continued, as it is becoming increasingly common that telephones, computers and other equipment all use the same network.
In addition to network upgrades, county employees will receive new phonesets, which Crider believes will help with productivity. Phones will include caller ID, conference call and hands-free applications.
Legislator David Pappert, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, expressed his support for the upgrades.
"Right now the phone systems are so old that we have to scavenge other units for parts," Pappert said, calling the project a "no-brainer" for its ability to bring in new technology and save taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Both Crider and Johnson have been working on the planning and design of the project for some time. The issue first came about last fall, when Centrex''s contract was up for renewal.
The county decided to extend it for another year, and Crider was brought on as the county''s consultant to determine what direction would be most effective for the county to take. He later determined that the private county telephone system would save money for the majority of phones (a few will not be hooked up to the new system because the upgrades for these would not be cost-effective, Johnson said).
At Monday''s meeting, legislators set up a $550,000 Capital H account for the project and authorized the acceptance of contracts from four companies (including Finger Lakes Technologies Group in Victor and ICS Telecom in Rochester), all of whom ECC will oversee to ensure that contract terms are met.
The original estimates pegged the project costs at around $600,000, but those numbers were revised following the planning and design phases. Finances are also being helped by a $50,000 grant that Johnson''s department received through the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology at Cayuga Community College.
If the resolutions pass today''s Legislature meeting, the phased installation will occur from June through October.
Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net
To view the article in the paper, click here.
That''s the sentiment of Information Technologies Director Steve Johnson and Matthew Crider, partner and vice president of ECC Technologies in Fairport, both of whom have been working on a major overall of the county''s telecommunications system.
"We''re replacing phones that are literally 20 years old," Crider said Monday following a meeting of the Cayuga County Legislature''s Ways and Means Committee.
The committee unanimously approved two resolutions related to the project, estimated to cost about $530,000. The upgrades will save the county roughly $50,000 per year, Crider said, noting that number is conservative.
That savings will come as a result of switching to a private, county-owned telephone system. The county currently contracts with Verizon Centrex and has 600 phones at 12 locations, Crider said.
Under the new system, the county will be able to do upgrades and maintenance in-house, Johnson added.
The telecommunications project will also convert the phones from standard ones that plug into jacks to VoIP, or voice-over Internet protocol, whereby the phones plug directly into the computer network.
This will bring the county up to the telecommunication industry''s current standards, Crider continued, as it is becoming increasingly common that telephones, computers and other equipment all use the same network.
In addition to network upgrades, county employees will receive new phonesets, which Crider believes will help with productivity. Phones will include caller ID, conference call and hands-free applications.
Legislator David Pappert, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, expressed his support for the upgrades.
"Right now the phone systems are so old that we have to scavenge other units for parts," Pappert said, calling the project a "no-brainer" for its ability to bring in new technology and save taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Both Crider and Johnson have been working on the planning and design of the project for some time. The issue first came about last fall, when Centrex''s contract was up for renewal.
The county decided to extend it for another year, and Crider was brought on as the county''s consultant to determine what direction would be most effective for the county to take. He later determined that the private county telephone system would save money for the majority of phones (a few will not be hooked up to the new system because the upgrades for these would not be cost-effective, Johnson said).
At Monday''s meeting, legislators set up a $550,000 Capital H account for the project and authorized the acceptance of contracts from four companies (including Finger Lakes Technologies Group in Victor and ICS Telecom in Rochester), all of whom ECC will oversee to ensure that contract terms are met.
The original estimates pegged the project costs at around $600,000, but those numbers were revised following the planning and design phases. Finances are also being helped by a $50,000 grant that Johnson''s department received through the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology at Cayuga Community College.
If the resolutions pass today''s Legislature meeting, the phased installation will occur from June through October.
Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net
To view the article in the paper, click here.
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