Harvey County commissioners on June 24 approved an upgrade to the county phone system that will connect the courthouse and the health department’s Pine Street office under a single, expandable server.

County staff said the Pine Street move exposed an under‑capacity of active phone lines in that building and that replacing the aging phone system will allow transfers across county locations and accommodate future growth. The county received a quote from Inside Connection Communications and staff recommended honoring a quote provided last year; the board approved waiving the purchasing policy to move forward.

County staff explained the new server will allow callers to be transferred between locations that share internet connectivity, eliminating the need to provide callers an additional phone number when transferring outside the courthouse. The project was budgeted at $75,000 and the cost presented to the board was $69,096.

Commission discussion included confirmation that one server will handle both sites and that newer phones would be supported longer than the county’s current equipment. A motion to waive the purchasing policy and approve Inside Connection Communications’ proposal passed by voice vote.

County staff said the server will be built in three to four weeks and then phones will be installed; staff expect the upgraded system to resolve existing phone reliability issues at the Pine Street location and to provide room for expansion.