ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604080057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: STAFFORD
SOURCE: Associated Press
Federal workers at telecommuting centers in Stafford and Spotsylvania County will soon be working side-by-side with workers from the private sector.
Center officials said Wednesday they received permission from the federal government to recruit private clients to help defray costs at the centers.
The move represents a giant step toward self-sufficiency, said Rep. Herbert Bateman, R-Newport News, whose district includes the centers.
``It's an innovative way to slowly but surely develop other customer markets and wean themselves from the federal subsidy,'' said Warren Master, telecommuting project chief for the federal General Services Administration.
The two centers are part of a pilot project that allows government workers to do their job without commuting to Washington. There are six federally funded telecommuting centers in the Washington area that link workers to main offices by computer, phone and fax.
The 130 workers at the two centers around Fredericksburg account for a large chunk of the estimated 300 telecommuters at all of the Washington sites, the GSA said.
The Stafford center, established last year, has 55 workers on 20 workstations. The Spotsylvania site, opened in 1994, has 75 workers on 30 stations. An employee typically uses a center one or two days a week.
The two sites, sponsored by the Rappahannock Area Development Commission, have capacity to spare.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB