Policy Text
Page 1 of 3 10/02 (REV 1/89)
Use of Departmental Telephones
The purpose of this General Order i s to prescribe the procedure for the use of
departmental telephones. I. General
Due to the emergency phases of our work and the individual cost of each outgoing call,
employees shall refrain from the use of Department telephones f or personal, social, or
other unofficial business. II. Telephone Courtesy
A. Calls received in the Comm unications Center on emergency and non-
emergency lines shall be answered in the accordance with proced ures
outlined in the Communications Bureau Operations Order.
B. When answering telephone calls, an employee shall identify t he
Department, unit, themselves (r ank, if applicable), and ask, “H ow may I
help you?”. Persons subsequently answering the same call should also
identify their unit (bureau), them selves, and ask, “How may I h elp you?”.
Examples:
1. “Sheriff’s Department, Detective Division ( or Burglary Bureau ), this
is Cathy” ( or sergeant’s name ). How may I help you?”
2. If the telephone line is unlis ted or reserved for inter-depa rtment
use, it is acceptable to answe r in the following manner: “Burg lary
(section assigned ) Johnson ( or rank, if applicable, and name ).”
C. Every reasonable attempt shoul d be made to assist the caller or to refer
the caller promptly to the pr oper departmental unit, or other p ublic or
private agency for assistance . If the caller has been placed on hold and
you are readdressing the caller, y ou should acknowledge the cal ler by
saying, “Thank you for holding” , and tell the person what you a re going to
do for them. Example: 1. “Thank you for holding. ( Person’s Name ) is out of the office. May I
take a message?”
Page 2 of 3 10/02 (REV 1/89)
3. “I’ll transfer you to ( agency/bureau ). They can help you. Should we
become disconnected the number is . . .”
III. Long Distance Calls
A. Employees making long dist ance calls, either intrastate or i nterstate, shall
do so by dialing direct. Special equipment has been installed w hich will
automatically select the most e conomical method of routing the call. Dial 9
(for outside line) + 1 (for l ong distance) + (area code if outs ide the 916
area) + the number. Example: 9 + 1 + (408) + 999-1234.
B. Employees should be cognizan t of the fact that all calls not within the
County Centrex System are char ged by the minute; therefore, emp loyees
should keep their conversations short. Station-to-station calls are less
expensive and should be used whenever possible. If the person b eing
called or the information desired is not available, employees s hall request
that the person called return t he call. The employee should giv e their
name, urgency of request, a ca ll back number and if the informa tion can
be left with others. If the num ber desired is unknown, it shoul d be obtained
by using the phone directorie s throughout the Department. The
Department is charged for the use of telephone Directory Assist ance
(411).
C. If an employee must make a personal emergency long distance call during
normal business hours, calls mus t be charged to the employee’s home
phone.
IV. Cost Control
A. The Administrative Division will provide a se parate, itemize d long distance
statement to each division co mmander for each telephone line un der their
control. The total number of local calls placed on each line wi ll also be
identified. Division Commanders shall use these statements to determine
if there is unauthorized use or co sts charged by employees unde r their
command. Specific incidents of m isuse shall be investigated and
appropriate action taken by the division commander.
V. Intra-County Calls
A. For calls to County offices, t he County Centrex System shall be used.
Refer to the County telephone di rectory for correct listings, o perating
procedures, and features.
1. Dial the last five digits of the number of the office being called.
2. For all other County offices no t part of the Centrex System, dial 9
and the seven digit number of the office being called.
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VI. Corrective Procedure
A. If an employee using the Count y telephone system experiences any
problems in reaching a specific office, has a bad connection, o r hears a
busy signal before the call has b een connected, they shall repo rt the
problem to the County Telephone Repair Service at 874-8611.
B. In the event of a major system failure, the Communications s ergeant on
duty shall be notified. The Comm unications Center has available a direct
ring down line to the County oper ator to report that a repair i s necessary.
The Communications sergeant s hall also notify the on-call
Communications coordinator.
C. Requests for additional phone li nes, credit card number acce ssibility, call
forwarding, etc., will be requested through service channels to the
purchasing officer, Administrative Division.