The Town has completed the installation of a new phone and internet system, bringing modern communications capabilities to Town Hall and other municipal properties for the first time.
A Smarter Phone System
The Town has transitioned to Spectrum’s RingCentral, a cloud-based business phone platform. Residents calling Town Hall will now be greeted by an automated attendant — a first for Surry — allowing callers to easily reach the Town Clerk, Select Board, Tax Collector, or be connected directly to other Town properties including the Library, Fire Station, and Town Garage.
Voicemail has also been significantly upgraded. All messages are now automatically transcribed by the system and delivered as emails directly to each department’s inbox, ensuring that nothing gets missed and eliminating the need to manually check voicemail or pass along handwritten notes.
Wi-Fi enabled conference phones with speakerphone capability have been added to both Town Hall and the Fire Station, improving the Town’s ability to conduct remote meetings and conference calls.
Faster, More Reliable Internet
Spectrum Business Class internet has replaced the Town’s previous service, providing priority bandwidth with more stable and predictable upload and download speeds. This upgrade supports not only the new phone system but also the Town’s day-to-day operations, including DMV transactions and other state system connections.
A Better System at a Lower Cost
Despite the significant improvements in features and capability, the new system actually reduces the Town’s communications costs. The Town entered into a three-year contract that is projected to save approximately $6,000 per year compared to the previous system — a meaningful savings for Surry taxpayers.