Among the complaints: The county has not done enough to market the number and system managers have not sufficiently analyzed the calls they have received.
Activated in September, the all-in-one 311 system is designed to funnel calls to the county to a single center, where they can be transferred to the appropriate extension.
With 3,000 phone numbers for county services, Solano County Supervisors have said the customer service device would cut down on incorrect calls and wait times.
The 311 system came with a $1.3 million price tag for each of the three years it was budgeted. Solano County has contracted with Affiliated Computer Services to run the system until 2011.
This contract and phone system have continually been criticized by Supervisor Barbara Kondylis, who has repeatedly said it's a waste of taxpayer money in a time of severe economic crisis.
The grand jury report, faxed to newspapers Monday, states that $750,000 was needed for build-out space and $800,000 for hardware and software. The money was to be recouped by fees charged to user departments, but, according to the report, those charges have not been levied.
It was also noted that less than half of the call center's space was actually being used, although the jury was told it was being held for "anticipated expansion."
In its findings, the grand jury made five recommendations:
The first concerned the lack of advertising and marketing of the 311 system. The jury suggested mailing information to Solano County residents and including a notice about the system on meeting agendas.
The jury also recommended the county do more research and analyze the reports from ACS, to monitor the value and costs involved.
The jury noticed that all calls are answered only in English and suggested operators be bilingual.
There was also a suggestion to involve all seven Solano County cities in the call center. The grand jury said the county should develop more extensive marketing to each of the cities, to show the benefit of joining the service. Currently, call center operators only give callers a phone number to contact a city service.
Finally, the grand jury recommended the county examine renegotiating the contract with ACS to cap the monthly billable minutes.
Because there was such little information and statistics available about the system, the jury recommended that the next grand jury revisit the topic to assure the proper use of Solano County tax funds.
The county has 60 to 90 days to respond to the findings and recommendations.
The full report is available on the grand jury Web site, at www.solanocourts.com.
http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_11877290
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