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Commission approves commission‑only contract with SpyGlass to audit county telecom accounts
Summary
Elko County approved a professional services agreement hiring SpyGlass Group LLC to audit the county’s telecommunications accounts for potential savings and billing errors. The contract is commission‑based: SpyGlass will be paid from one year of identified savings and the county will retain half of any recovered tax refunds.
Elko County commissioners voted to approve a limited telecommunications audit agreement with SpyGlass Group LLC intended to identify unused services, billing mistakes and tax overcharges across the county’s primary telecom accounts.
Why it matters: County IT staff previously consolidated departmental phone and data services under the county IT director and identified unused accounts. The SpyGlass audit is intended to provide a vendor‑level reconciliation with Frontier, Vonage and other providers to find additional savings without upfront county costs.
What the county approved: - The agreement is commission‑based: SpyGlass would be paid from the first 12 months of verified recurring savings produced by cancelling or reconfiguring services — effectively the county pays the vendor out of the first year’s savings instead of Frontier. - Overpayments or tax rebate recoveries identified by SpyGlass would be split 50/50 between the county and the vendor. - The county can limit the accounts provided for review and will only pay for recommendations the county implements.
At the meeting IT Director Robert Pratt summarized prior internal work: since consolidating telecom under IT in March 2023, the department had already disconnected 23 unused lines (examples included a T1 costing about $400/month that was not plugged in). Pratt told commissioners they lack specialized tax expertise to pursue every possible refund and welcomed the external audit to reduce staff time.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about scope (the audit will include Vonage VoIP and Anthem internet services), fee structure (vendor paid only from the first 12 months of realized savings), and whether the county could limit which accounts are reviewed. Pratt answered that the county can stage the review and withhold the most sensitive accounts until staff is comfortable.
Commission action: A commissioner moved to approve the SpyGlass contract as presented; after a second the motion passed unanimously. The county directed staff to finalize the agreement and return with any negotiated contract language.
Clarifying details recorded in the meeting: the vendor will receive payment equal to 12 months of the recurring savings that result from implemented recommendations; refunded tax overcharges or rebates would be split 50% to the county and 50% to SpyGlass; and the county will only pay fees for recommended changes it implements.
