Bonner County to consolidate internet and phone circuit costs; IT director estimates $206,170.86 for next year

Bonner County’s director of technology told commissioners he wants to consolidate monthly internet and telephone circuit charges into a single telephony and circuits budget line and move roughly $39,770.86 from a software/subscriptions account to cover recurring circuit costs.

“That should be $206,170.86,” the director said when asked for the anticipated total for next year after moving four service providers’ charges into account 6920. The director told the board several existing circuits and phone lines are currently budgeted across multiple accounts and said it is both logically and administratively cleaner to pay those recurring costs from a single telephony and circuits line rather than from a software‑related account.

Commissioners asked for monthly cost breakdowns and clarification that the proposed number reflected anticipated contract costs rather than an attempt to rebalance last year’s spending. The director confirmed the $206,170.86 figure represents anticipated cost for the coming year after the line moves and the $39,770.86 transfer to 6920.

The board discussed the difficulty of cancelling some vendor contracts midterm and noted the need to budget for known renewal fees. The director said Munis does not yet support every desired tracking feature for tax turnover and similar items and that the county is working with peer counties on alternative solutions.

Commissioners asked the director to put the monthly contract costs and the proposed transfers into the Munis notes so the board can verify the projections before final budget adoption.