State's cell bill: $4.9M and all on the taxpayers' dime

Your state government is listening. And it seems they are doing a lot of talking as well.

State records indicate about one out of every four of South Carolina's 67,200 full or part-time employee has access to an agency-supplied mobile. Last year, those 15,458 devices cost taxpayers about $4.9 million in air time just through the end of September.

To be sure, government in the modern age likes to keep up with the demands of immediacy. And access to cell phones means the public's business can be conducted on the move, in the field or traveling the highway. But with state governments across the country facing deficits, the debate over who has access to state-supplied devices has picked up, starting with cash-strapped California.

Newly installed Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown recently ordered state employees there to turn in about half of the 96,000 cell phones given to Golden State workers, at an estimated savings of $20 million. "I want every department and agency to examine and justify all cell phone usage," Brown said.

So, are cell phones even on the table in South Carolina, where the Legislature is grappling with $700 million in cuts to programs and services this year? Some state lawmakers say they have to be.

"Absolutely, it's a place to look," Rep. Jim Merrill, a Daniel Island Republican and member of the House's budget writing committee, said. Gov. Nikki Haley's office agreed. "We are looking at every single possible savings in state government because, in tough budget years, nothing is off the table," said spokesman Rob Godfrey.

Leading the way among state users is the Department of Health and Environmental Control, with about 1,560 phones in service for a variety of nurses, restaurant inspectors, environmental workers and the like - employees who are in their building "by 8 a.m. then out by 8:30," agency spokesman Thom Berry said. "Most of our employees work in the field. They do not work in an office setting per se."

The state's college and universities are also heavy cell phone users. The Medical University of South Carolina has 1,251 state-supplied phones, state figures show. By comparison, The University of South Carolina has more than 1,100 cellular devices in use. Also locally, the College of Charleston has 266; The Citadel has 146, according to state Budget and Control Board figures.

While most agencies say those who get the phones have shown a demonstrated need, or have to be reachable "24/7," Thomas J. Bardin, Jr., director of the General Assembly's Legislative Audit Council, said one safeguard would be to require that phone invoices be posted online by agency, to ensure transparency or to expose abuse.

At the very least, Bardin said that any employee issued a state cell phone should have their number published on their agency web sites, since it is a public device and it also is becoming practice for workers to avoid public interaction by using cells instead of land-line contacts.

Lawmakers surveyed last week said the issue of cell phones is a double-edge sword. While some decry the opportunity for abuse, they also see cell phones as necessary for government to operate.

"I think the positives outweigh the negatives," said Sen. Paul Campbell, a Goose Creek Republican who served as a high-level Alcoa executive.

Rep. Dwight Loftis, a Greenville Republican who is considered a technology guru in the Legislature, said he thinks the state should study the situation but argues that state workers need better access to technology, including iPads.

Loftis said he's seen evidence that iPads - or similar e-tablets - have made law enforcement more efficient and effective in going after criminals. For example, state troopers could scan a driver's license and then use an iPad to enter information on the situation, avoiding the need for them to go back to the office and read their notes and then enter the information into a computer.

"It reduced their costs and paperwork in the office and increased the conviction rate because they weren't reading their notes back at the office," Loftis said. "They were putting it in, in real time."

There are about 550 laptop computers in state Highway Patrol cars now, with plans for 250 more to be added later this spring.

Top cell phone usage among state agencies

Agency / Calendar Year 2010 expenditures* / Number of devices

DHEC / $332,677.52 / 1,563

MUSC / $560,926.10 / 1,251

Dept. of Transportation / $317,843.74 / 1,207

University of South Carolina / $373,968.98 / 1,122

Dept. of Mental Health / $165,327.51 / 890

Bottom 5

USC Aiken / $277.45 / 1

Arts Commission / $239.94 / 1

State Accident Fund / $747.52 / 2