San Diego County is getting ready to tell its fax machines to take a hike. Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe yesterday rolled out a plan to overhaul how county workers make calls and send documents, shifting to software-based phone tools and parking the old hardware. County officials say the move could trim recurring costs by as much as $7 million a year while still keeping the public connected. The proposal is the first formal action to come out of the board's new Fiscal Subcommittee and is slated for a vote later this week.
Under the plan, the county would swap out its fixed-cost “legacy phone platform” for software-based “soft phones,” cap employees at one county phone line, reclaim unused physical phones, and gradually retire stand-alone fax machines. Supervisor Montgomery Steppe cast the effort as both belt-tightening and basic modernization, saying in a statement that by updating communications systems, the county can redirect millions of dollars each year back into local communities, according to the Times of San Diego.
The timing is not accidental. County leaders are staring down steep reductions in federal funding that they warn could hit core safety net programs, including housing assistance and food support. Local officials say the county is bracing for roughly a $300 million annual shortfall, a gap that has them hunting for savings wherever they can find them, as reported by NBC 7 San Diego.
What Would Change
The biggest shift would come on the phone front. The proposal calls for retiring the county's legacy phone network in favor of on-device and cloud-based calling software, reducing the need for traditional desk phones and the fixed-line costs that come with them. Staff would rely on "soft phones" installed on their county devices, unused equipment would be collected, and fax machines would be phased out over time. County leaders say some exceptions would remain in place for offices that still need older systems to keep services running reliably, according to the Times of San Diego.
Next Steps And Local Impact
The communications overhaul is on the Board of Supervisors' agenda and could get a vote at an upcoming meeting at the County Administration Center in downtown San Diego. If the board signs off, county staff would then have to roll out new software, train employees on the tools, and set up a clear process for departments that still depend on legacy phones or fax machines to request exceptions. Details on how the board sets its meeting schedules and procedures are laid out in San Diego County's Board Rules.
