NO RUSH TO SOLVE COUNTY PHONE BILL

While a residential customer could never get by for six months without paying the telephone bill, Cape Girardeau County has managed to do so, and the bill is far larger than any residential phone bill should ever be: in the neighborhood of $50,000 and growing.

Southwestern Bell isn't concerned that the county won't pay the bill, and the county has every intention of eventually doing so. The problem is the county thinks the bill is excessive and won't pay it until all the charges are straightened out.

The problems date back to last fall when Square One Electronics of Cape Girardeau installed a new telephone system for the county at a cost of more than $200,000. A representative of Square One, who has reviewed the phone bills, said Southwestern Bell appears to have charged the county for both the new phone service and for some of the old phone service, which hasn't been disconnected yet. There appear to be instances of dual billing and erroneous charges, the Square One representative says.

The county's regular monthly phone bill should total about $3,500 a month, only slightly higher than the old phone system.

Getting to the bottom of the charges is complicated by the fact that the county's Jackson and Cape Girardeau offices have been wired over the years with about 80 telephone lines for everything from phones to fax machines and computer modems. To further complicate the finding of a solution, Southwestern Bell has undergone an internal reorganization that has delayed efforts to get the situation resolved.

The Square One representative said he and has his staff have spent more than 200 hours trying to straighten out the billing. A representative for Southwestern Bell said working telephone numbers in county offices have been inventoried, and Southwestern Bell wants to be sure the billing reflects any changes from old telephone system to the new one.

All of that apparently will take time, possibly as long as several months, the Square One representative speculated.

The county is clear on its position that it won't pay anything until it is satisfied the charges are correct. Southwestern Bell will get to the bottom of the problem eventually, but with charges mounting it seems the company would want to clear up the account as soon as possible. The longer it takes, the worse the problem will get.