By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

You may have trouble getting through to Fayette County government extensions this weekend.

And after this weekend, you'll have to dial one extra digit to get the extension you want.

Workers this weekend will be installing new equipment that will improve county phone service while reducing its cost.

During the installation, phone service may be unreliable at the county office, said Jay Wright, information services director. But he added that crews will deal with the most frequently called weekend number first — the number for burn permits.

Following the installation, for each county extension you call from now on, you'll have to add a “5” to the extension number.

The extension numbers for the various departments will remain the same except for the additional digit.

The up side is that county operators will be able to switch calls between the county's various facilities, and you won't have to hang up and call a different number if you reach the wrong building.

For instance, if you call the county's main number, 770-460-5730, and ask for the Public Works Department, currently you're told that you have to hang up and call a different number.

With the new equipment, operators at the main number will be able to transfer your call directly to Public Works, which is housed in the county's McDonough Road annex.

The equipment will be installed at the McDonough Road facilities — Public Works, Water System, etc. — the following weekend, Feb. 12 and 13. Extensions at McDonough Road will then have a “6” added, but will remain the same otherwise.

An automated system also will be in place for county workers who are frequently in the field and unavailable in the office. Your message on that person's answering machine will ring his or her pager, so that important calls can be handled right away.

Workers at the county Animal Shelter on Ga. Highway 74 south are particularly happy about that, said Jay Wright, director of information services. One — sometimes two — animal control workers currently must stay in the office to man the phones, mostly answering simple questions, when they need to be taking care of animals and dealing with strays, he said.

New equipment will now not only answer the calls and page the workers if needed, but also will contain prerecorded answers to most often asked questions, freeing workers for their other duties.

And because of new technology and increased competition in the marketplace, the changes will reduce the county's cost for telephones by $64,000 a year, while the initial setup will cost only about $30,000, said Wright.

Wright worked out the details of the changes with BellSouth during meetings with the communications company prompted by a request from the Animal Shelter.

“The Animal Shelter has a lot of callers who are seeking information, but don't necessarily need to talk to an individual,” he told county commissioners during a recent meeting. His department already was working to find solutions to similar problems for the Parks and Recreation Department, Wright said.