The township is planning to switch from traditional telephone phone lines to a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) system next month.
Council approved the move at a special budget meeting on Dec. 22.
The township currently has phone service through Bell and a Wightman phone system owned by the township.
“With the addition of the new municipal maintenance facility we are reaching the capacity of our phone system and would need to consider an upgrade,” explained CAO Brad McRoberts in a report to council.
“As such, staff have been soliciting proposals from various providers for either a standard Bell system or a voice over internet protocol system. VoIP is essentially a phone system operating over the internet versus a dedicated phone line.”
Currently the township is paying in the range of $900 per month ($10,800 annually) for phones, including long distance charges.
The report notes capital costs of approximately $11,000 are anticipated, but operational savings of about $6,000 annually would mean a payback period of less than two years.
The township’s current contract with Bell is set to expire on Feb. 2 and will automatically renew for three years unless notice is given, the report notes.
“Using a VoIP system will have no external effect but will provide greater flexibility on call management. Individual numbers will remain the same, however internally staff will have the ability to transfer calls to external locations,” the report explains.
For example, if a call came to the administration office it could be transferred to the PMD arena without the caller having to hang up and dial the arena.
In the event of an internet service interruption the system would remain operational to the caller as the phone would ring and they could reach the auto attendant.
“Currently, if the bell network failed we would have no service and callers may not get any answer via auto attendant. It would simply … ring until the party hung up,” the report states.
“We would still maintain a Bell line for emergency back-up purposes at the administration office and the Moorefield fire hall. This would provide some emergency communications redundancy.”
Mayor Neil Driscoll. said, “The nicest thing is if you called in and you needed to speak to our director of public works the receptionist can put you right through to his cell phone.”
Council approved a resolution authorizing staff to obtain the VOIP system through Coppertree, one of four companies that provided proposals. The company offered the second lowest capital and the lowest operating costs.
“The saving in annual operating costs will quickly outweigh the higher capital costs,” the report points out.
