City staff getting into the ring of things with new phones

It's often a painful process, but the city's switch to a new phone system has been relatively smooth.

So reports assistant city manager Barry Krumstok, who says the Alcatel-Lucent digital system will streamline calls and lower maintenance costs.

The entire city staff - including public works, police, fire, finance, administration and community development - went live on the phones Sept. 5.

"Our old system was becoming a maintenance nightmare - and that's a nice way to put it," Krumstok says. The analog phones kept breaking down and the city would have to go into "back alleys" looking for parts, he added, only half joking.

What does it mean for those dialing up a city department? "Residents shouldn't really see any difference when they call in," Krumstok says.

If a live person doesn't pick up a call, it moves to a more specific directory and offers a menu. In the past if the call wasn't picked up in time, it would go to a general mailbox.

Krumstok says callers already have told him they like the music that plays when they're on hold. In the past, with no sound, it was hard to tell if they'd been cut off.

The staff has been getting up to speed after a week of training sessions. But if you call and accidentally get cut off - have patience. There's always a bit of a learning curve with these things.

Did you flood? Even if you're all dried out by now, Deb Austerlade would like to hear from you. She's the fire department inspector who's tracking down the names and addresses of all city residents who experienced water damage to their home last weekend.

From there she will submit the numbers to Cook County.

"We don't know if we'll be granted any money," she says. "We're just doing anything we can to help people."

Her survey takes less than two minutes. If you haven't heard from her, give her a call by Tuesday, Sept. 23, at (847) 397-3352, ext. 4040.

Resale mecca: In my last column I wrote about this weekend's consignment sale at St. Colette - the school's first. It starts tonight and runs Saturday, Sept. 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. While you're in the neighborhood, go down the street for the annual Rolling Meadows Community Garage Sale. Residents have rented out tables to sell all kinds of good stuff. The sale is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Community Center, 3705 Pheasant Drive.

• Colleen Thomas welcomes your news about community events and people. Call (847) 427-4591, or e-mail her at cthomas@dailyherald.com.