Published: March 22, 2008 06:03 pm            

Jeffersonville mayor, council eye cell expenses

Officials in Jeffersonville are trying to bring under control spending on cell phones.

Mayor Tom Galligan says cutting cell phone usage has been an ongoing initiative since he took office in January. City council members are independently reviewing policies, as well.

Right now, the city has 96 cell phones in use. The Jeffersonville Police Department uses 27, according to Police Chief Tim Deeringer. Other city departments combine to use about 69 — down from 75 last year, according to Patti Smith, the deputy clerk-treasurer who coordinates cell phone service.

There’s a push from officials to eliminate cell phones being held by those who are usually close to a landline, Smith said.

“It’s going to decrease a lot more,” she said.

Typically Smith said the phones are used by both department heads and those working in the field during the day.

Bills run about $5,000 per month, Smith said. The city uses Verizon and each department has its own cell phone plan.

For comparison sake, Clarksville — a smaller municipality by about 8,000 residents - uses 40 cell phones provided through Nextel. All phones are on one plan and bills run about $1,000 each month.

In an e-mailed statement Galligan said he’s given department heads two instructions regarding cell phone usage: Phones should only go to those who are on call and employees shouldn’t make a habit of using them for personal calls.

Smith has called numbers that have appeared on bills to ensure that employees are not violating the directive, Galligan said.

“Our review of cell phone use will continue and we will get these expenses under control,” he said.

Mike Smith, one of the city council members behind the push to review cell phone policy, notes that about $60,000 was budgeted for cell phones this year.

“I think the dollar amount has gotten out of hand,” he said.

“I think it’s the consensus of the council to look at it and see where we’re at.”

A list of city employees who use cell phones has been requested by Council President Ed Zastawny.

“I think our cell phone bills are just way too high — it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Contributing to that is the fact that the city doesn’t use one big plan for all departments, he said, so a discount was not negotiated. Additionally, many phones have internet access and text message support — something he says could be eliminated in most cases.

Both the mayor’s and the council’s reviews are still in progress. Zastawny estimates the issue could come before the city council in April.



BY THE NUMBERS

• 96 - cell phones in use by the City of Jeffersonville

• 27 - of those cell phones are being used by the Jeffersonville Police Department

• $5,000 - city’s annual average monthly phone bill

        

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