The purpose of this report was to determine the controls over the use of WATS lines by state employees. The WATS lines either were part of the central telephone service for the State Capitol Commission (Centrex) or were separate lines to various agencies in Mississippi state government.
After reviewing these WATS lines, the PEER Committee found no known controls over the usage of WATS lines by state employees. In fact, substantial abuse of the lines had occurred. Current procedures for billing state agencies through Centrex were inadequate. Further, no readily available record of WATS lines in state government existed. State government’s telecommunications systems were fragmented and so did not represent the most efficient or economical usage of telephone communications.
The PEER Committee recommended that all agency heads inform their employees that WATS lines would be used for business purposes only, that on occasions each agency would monitor employees’ calls to assure proper use of the lines, and that they should limit the length of their calls. Each agency head should designate someone to make a monthly review of the Centrex printout showing all WATS calls made during the month. The PEER Committee should be provided the results of that review and the extent of the abuse of WATS lines by that agency’s employees. Each agency should continue to monitor calls and report abuses to the Committee. Centrex should go to computerized billing of all WATS lines, and, as soon as possible, state government should authorize the installation of more efficient and economical service on a statewide basis.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.