Cellular phone bills targeted

Cellular phone bills targeted
Thursday, February 12, 2009
By KEN ROSS
kross@repub.com
HOLYOKE - City officials looking to save every penny have found a place to pinch a few: cell phones.

Faced with an annual bill of approximately $50,000 for 106 phones, the city recently did what many savvy consumers are doing now - bargaining for a lower price.

According to David A. Martins, chief procurement officer for the city, Holyoke was able to negotiate an estimated 25 to 35 percent cut in its monthly cell phone bill with Sprint, the city's cell phone provided. But that bill might end up being even lower. That's because Martins is negotiating with several cell phone companies to see if the city can get an even lower rate.

"We're looking at some major cuts come July 1," Martins said Tuesday.

The issue came into the public spotlight late last month when City Councilor Kevin A. Jourdain filed an order with the council to review the city's cell phone usage. As part of the order, Jourdain included the monthly cell phone bill for the period ending Dec. 12. The detailed bill included exactly how much employees spent during that one-month period.

The highest single cell phone bill was for Assessor Anthony Dulude, who's city-paid cell phone bill that month was $182.84. He was followed by:

School Superintendent Eduardo Caballo: $100.74.

Tax Collector Robert F. Kane, $85.01

City Solicitor Karen Betournay, $84.97.

Mayor Michael J. Sullivan, $80.08

The bill also included totals by department. The highest was the School Department. Not including Caballo, the School Department paid $1,722.47 for 48 phones (an average of $35.88 per phone) that month.

The next highest was the Police Department, which spent $490.76 on 20 phones ($24.53 per phone) that month. Next came the fire department, which spent $309.55 on 12 phones ($25.79 per phone) that month.

Other department expenditures include:

Department of Public Works, 4 phones, $178.88 total, $44.72 per phone.

Parks Department, 8 phones, $176.62 total, $22.07 per phone.

Building Department, 3 phones, $121.53 total, $40.51 per phone.

The council referred the order to review the bill to the council's Finance Committee. The committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday, but no discussion about the order was expected because, Jourdain said, the council was still waiting to hear back from city department heads about the bill. The council also wants to receive detailed call-by-call records for every phone. They have already received such records from the police and school departments, Jourdain said.

"We want to make them aware of it," Jourdain said Tuesday. "Is it really necessary to have all these phones? It's a big bill."

Jourdain added, "That (the city's total monthly cell phone bill) seems like a lot of money to me... We need to question a lot of things we took for granted in the past."

Martins said Tuesday that his office began negotiating with Sprint for a lower bill before Jourdain filed the order. Still, Martins said he understands and appreciates Jourdain's concern, given the current economic climate.

Martins added that each department head decides its own cell phone budget. He simply negotiates the lowest rate possible for all the city's cell phones.

"What I do is combine them in one shared plan," he said.

Martins added he hopes to get an even lower rate for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. That's because the current business climate is so competitive given the current economic downturn.



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