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Answer to budget cuts: Stop answering phones
[February 17, 2009] COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- One Colorado county clerk has an unusual response to staff cuts caused by budget shortfalls: Don't answer the phones.
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The El Paso County clerk and recorder's office stopped answering telephones in three offices last month. The change was ordered by county clerk Bob Balink, who was forced to lay off 19 staffers late last year. Balink hasn't commented on the phone shutdown, but the unanswered calls have two other local officials demanding a change. El Paso's county assessor and county treasurer say the phone boycott is a bad move. They point out that some people don't have Internet access and can't drive to the clerk's office to see a county employee in person. Voice messages on the clerk's phones would refer people to the assessor's and treasurer's phone lines. ___ Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com/ |
