PARIS – Nonemergency calls should run a little smoother after a recent upgrade of a phone system used by the Oxford County dispatch center, jail, and Sheriff’s Office.

Jim Miclon, director of the Oxford County Regional Communications Center, said the secondhand system was installed in 1999.

“It was outdated when they put it in,” he said.

The system, which handled approximately 133,000 calls in 2007, is separate from the 911 emergency line. It is used for nonemergency purposes, such as speaking to an officer.

Miclon said problems with the system included busy tones and calls that bypassed the main menu. In a letter to the county commissioners during last year’s budget deliberations, Miclon said the server could not be expanded for future needs and factory parts were not available.

Commissioners approved approximately $18,000, split among the three departments’ budgets, to upgrade the system. Miclon said NT & T of South Portland completed the work for $15,600.

Capt. Ernest Martin, administrator at the Oxford County Jail, said the system has some problems, such as no longer showing which lines are active.

“This is typical growing pains,” Martin said. “And there’s probably advantages as well as disadvantages.”

Martin cited the addition of voice mail, which most full-time staff in the three departments did not previously have, as one of the benefits.

“I used to have to drop everything and have to run to the phone,” he said.

“This system is very efficient, now that we’re getting used to it,” Sheriff’s Office administrator Linda Hooker said.

She said the number for the civil office has been disconnected. The office is now accessible through the Sheriff’s Office or dialing ext. 117 from the system menu, which can be reached at 743-9554.