T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART Councilman Spencer Echemann looks at the demo phone system subtractor for Cloud Advisors Larry Clark brought to show council, which would replace the old phone system.

MARTINS FERRY — Martins Ferry City Council decided Wednesday that it would enter the next phase of replacing its old phone system.

Council members voted 6-0 to enter into a five-year contract with Forefront Technology and Cloud Advisors for a new phone system. Council members Rick Rodgers, Suzanne Armstrong, Spencer Echemann, Rob Hunker, James Agnew and Jim Schramm voted to approve. Mayor John Davies was absent from the meeting.

Auditor Jack Regis recently presented a proposal to council about a new phone system. Regis did not attend Wednesday’s meeting, but had representatives from the two companies to talk to council members about the system. Ryan Strauss from Forefront Technology said there has been an initiative within the city to utilize technology and cut costs. Cloud Advisors representative Larry Clark brought a demo phone system, which showed council what it would look like.

The phone system would be from both companies. Forefront Technology, which would be in charge of the city’s software programs and security, would act as a general contractor. Cloud Advisors will supply the phone system hardware as a subcontractor.

Strauss and Clark discussed different cost analyses and brought the most effective one to council.

Strauss told council the two companies are still going to give the city the same functionality but includes some new features.

The system that council may adopt, which was the one Clark brought to show, is a five-year contract with 29 phones and voice-grade call processing for a little over $600 a month, with maintenance included.

Clark said what’s nice about the phone system is that it has survivability to a mobile app should the council need to have call flow there, such as if someone is sitting in a meeting.

Clark described the system as very responsive, reliable and cost effective.

The only anticipated changes in the pricing that the two provided Regis was that if council added phones or needed a voice card for more than four phones to maintain quality.

Along with the city building, the city will install the new system at each fire station, EMS and other places the city plans to keep phones.

The six also unanimously passed an ordinance providing for assessments to be levied and authorizing the service director to certify those assessments to the Belmont County auditor.

Schramm said he met with the Martins Ferry Volunteer Fire Department and the main concern was that membership at the fire department is declining every year. In the department’s bylaws, someone can be a member of the department if they live within a seven-mile radius of Martins Ferry. Other people from outside the radius would like to join and captains at the fire department want to extend the radius from seven to 15 miles. Council approved the extension.

Fire Chief II Justin Smith added that the current bylaw states that firefighters can live within the radius in Belmont County. The department would like to change it to say “State of Ohio,” since the new 15-mile radius would allow people from other counties would like to join.

“We’re just trying to attract and retain more people,” Smith said. “And declining membership is everywhere, it’s not just Martins Ferry.”