N.J. comptroller audit found that no outgoing calls were made from 38,478 landlines during the last three months of 2009
New Jersey State Comptroller Matthew Boxer.TRENTON — One out of every six state government phone lines is funded but unused, according to a state comptroller report released today.
Disconnecting the phones will save $3.2 million a year, the report said.
"Examples of government waste don’t get much clearer than that," Comptroller Matthew Boxer said.
New Jersey's government utilizes more than 100,000 landlines and another 19,000 wireless devices including cell phones and BlackBerries.
The audit found that no outgoing calls were made from 38,478 landlines during the last three months of 2009. In response to the findings, state government departments have begun to disconnect 18,265 of those landlines.
Another 1,394 mobile phones have also been disconnected. One of those phones had been funded for six years after a state employee resigned, the report said.
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