HomeMy WebLinkAbout780502.tiff RESOLUTION
RE: AUTHORIZING THE PROPOSED MERGER OF THE STATE COURT TELEPHONE
SYSTEM OF THE 19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
AND THE WELD COUNTY CENTENNIAL CENTER SWITCHBOARD.
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County,
Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home
Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the
affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and
WHEREAS, the Finance Director of Weld County, Colorado has
reviewed with the Board of County Commissioners , the proposed
merger of the State Court Telephone System of the 19th Judicial
District of Weld County, Colorado, with the Weld County Centen-
nial Center switchboard. The Finance Director further stated
that said proposal is feasible and worthwhile, and
WHEREAS, a representative of the 19th Judicial District
of Weld County, Colorado reported to the Board of County Com-
missioners that such a merger would constitute a savings of
$8 , 000 to $10, 000 annually and would increase the Centennial
Center switchboard calls by approximately 18% . It was further
noted that this merger would not necessitate the hiring of any
additional employees, and
WHEREAS, after careful consideration of the feasibility
of the proposed merger, the Board of County Commissioners
deems it advisable and in the best interest of Weld County
to approve the proposed merger.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Com-
missioners that the proposed merger of the State Court Tele-
phone System of the 19th Judicial District of Weld County,
Colorado, with the Weld County Centennial Center switchboard,
be, and hereby is , authorized.
The above and foregoing Resolution was , on motion duly made
and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 22nd day of
February, A.D. , 1978.
^ ` • BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ATTEST: ucig" vn •. i ! UrWELD COUNTY, COLORADO
Weld County Clerk and Recorder
\
nd Clerk to and F
By: A (tc
Deputy C ty Clerk `
J • _.� / ,s" ✓
APPROV AS TO CORM: l/ 780502
ta
County Attorney OPCCC14
Date Presented: March 6 , 1978
4
OFFICE OF WELD COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS
it4tte;i' ELMER H. "Bud" REYNOLDS, Director
PHONE (303) 356-4000 EXT. 245
P.O. BOX 758
WI
O GREELEY, COLORADO 80631 Il
COLORADO
Tom Dority, Finance Officer
Centennial Center
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, Co. 80631
Dear Tom,
Attached please find the project justification for the
proposed merger of the State Court Telephone System of
the 19th Judicial District, Weld County, and the Centen-
nial Center Switchboard.
Also attached is correspondence from the State of Colorado
Auditor's Office guaranteeing payment of the prorated
share of expenses.
I hope this information is sufficient for proposal to
the Weld County Commissioners. If you have need of
any further information, please contact me.
Regards,
cf«—
lmer H. "Bu " Reynolds, Director
Weld County Communications
EHR:jma
Enc.
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
Statement of Problems :
On June 15, 1976, the Weld County Centennial Center began operations.
On this date, the Communications Center began operations of it's new
switchboard (356-4000) . Prior to this date, all telephone switchboard
functions for county government were handled through a joint switch-
board located at the Weld County Courthouse. Since the separation of
the switchboards, this department and the court system have experienced
several problems as detailed below:
1) Approximately 8% of the calls received on the Centennial Center
switchboard belong to the court system and approximately 20% of the
calls received on the court switchboard should go to the Centennial
Center.
2) A loss of operator efficiency is experienced due to time delay
required to explain the inability of transferring a call from the
Centennial Center switchboard to the court switchboard. This de-
velops a potential public relations problem when citizens of Weld
County experience unnecessary difficulty in reaching needed govern-
ment services. This problem is even further compounded when parties
calling long distance must place their calls again.
3) The Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office work very
closely with the court system. To provide better coordination,
they have been forced to install special extensions from the court
switchboard to their offices. This creates an extra expense that
could be eliminated by merging of the court system with the Cen-
tennial Center switchboard.
4) When the Centennial Center established their new switchboard,
the PBX oeprator who previously operated the combined switchboard
was transferred to the Centennial Center operation. The results
of this action left the court system without a switchboard opera-
tor. Several attempts were made by the court system to have the
State Personnel System authorize a PBX position. However, these
attempts failed. This has forced the courts to require their
staff to operate the court switchboard in addition to their nor-
mal duties . The resulting overload has affected the quality of
telephone service for the courts and could affect the performance
of their other duties.
Proposed Solution:
The Communications Department in conjunction with the Court System
recommends the merger of their telephone system into the Centennial
Center switchboard, thus providing better service for the citizens of
Weld County.
The merger would result in a reduction of time wasted explaining tele-
phone numbers to calling parties. It would relieve the court staff
from having to operate their own switchboard. Merging these systems
would facilitate coordination between the Sheriff and District Attor-
ney's Offices with the court system. A joint system would provide
more efficient management of budget dollars and existing telephone
systems.
Implementation of Solution:
The following factors were taken into consideration before recommending
this proposal .
PHONE LINE UTILIZATION
Centennial Center switchboard presently has thirty main calling
trunk lines. Acquisition of the court system will increase the
number of trunks by eight.
Centennial Center Court system
Denver line use: 140/day 1.5/day
(This load divided between
2 lines. Court system will
add one more line. )
Page 2 - Project Justification
Centennial Center Court system
Ft. Collins Line use: 41/day 2.5/day
State Wide WATS: 25/day .6/day
SWITCHBOARD LOAD:
Calls per day 1600 300
This merger would increase switchboard load by 18.75%. The new
Sheriff's Office wing will increase switchboard load by 25%, for
a total of 43.75%. The Communications Department has prepared
for this increase in the Sheriff's Office telephone load and
anticipate little difficulty in the small increase from the
court system.
The Judicial Administrator for the court system was contacted concerning
their ability to reimburse Weld County for the court's share of the sys-
tem's cost. The State Internal Auditor was contacted and gave approval
for the court's participation in this program. A ceiling figure of
$20,000 per year was given to the state by the courts as an estimate
of costs. However, it is expected that the state's cost will be below
this figure.
Weld County's increase in billing will be reflected by the amount the
courts would be accountable for. Therefore, cost factor to Weld
County Government will be negligible.
In conclusion, it is the feelings of the Communications Department that
this proposed merger would be advantageous to both Weld County Govern-
ment and the Court System of the 19th Judicial District. We therefore
recommend it's implementation.
WCC/2/78
cittrg Ai. Qlunnrll
3ubtcial !District Abministratur
POST OFFICE BOX 799
GREELEY, COLORADO 90631
January 25, 1978
Mr. Robert C. Cassidy
Internal Auditor
Judicial Department
2 East 14th Avenue
Denver, CO 80203
Dear Bob:
Pursuant to your recommendation, the Nineteenth Judicial
District, along with Mountain Bell and the Weld County Communi-
cations Division have completed a comparative study on the
Weld County telephone systems.
It is their conclusion that a substantial savings to the
taxpayer can be achieved by expanding the County system to in-
clude the Nineteenth Judicial District.
At this time it is estimated that the court's contribution
will not exceed $20,000 annually, a savings of more than
$6,000 over last year's actual expenses. There is a high
probability that we can expect even greater savings.
The Weld County Law Enforcement Center will be completed
before March 1st, and the conversion of the telephone system
will take place at that time.
Weld County has requested that the Judicial Department
guaratee payment of the prorated share of expenses.
We respectfully request your approval .
Very truly yours,
Mary M. Connell
District Administrator
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