State Saving Money By Using Phone Books

HARTFORD (AP) — The state is savings thousands of dollars by having workers rely more on phone books and less on using the 411 directory assistance, Gov M. Jodi Rell said December 11.

Eight months ago, Gov Rell asked employees to stop dialing 411 and start using the phone book and online directories to find telephone numbers.

In March, the state paid more than $24,000 for directory assistance. That bill was under $14,000 in November, Gov Rell said. Calls to directory assistance dropped  from almost 32,000 calls per month to just over 19,000.

“I am pleased with these results and thank our agencies and employees for exercising this new discipline,” the governor said. “However, I want to make clear that I believe we can still do better.”

Gov Rell said she would personally conduct spot check of the executive branch agency phone bills to ensure people are complying with her directive.

The billing data includes 411 calls to directory assistance made from land lines within 52 agencies in the state government. It does not include directory assistance calls made from cell phones or using calling cards.