County staff: sheriff's phone upgrade will be billed as multi-year lease, likely prompting budget amendment

County staff informed the board that an anticipated $35,000 capital purchase for the sheriff’s phone system will be billed by the vendor in monthly payments over three years rather than as a single invoice. The accounting change means the county’s capital budget and expenditure timing will differ from the original plan and will require coordination with the clerk’s office and a budget amendment.

Staff said they had attempted to prepay but the vendor would not accept prepayment and preferred a multi-year billing structure that spaces revenue for the vendor over time. The change does not increase the overall cost noted in the packet but changes how the expense appears in this year’s telephone expenditure line; staff said they will return with details and the required amendment.

A commissioner asked why the county could not pay the $35,000 up front; staff replied prepayment was not permitted and that the arrangement looks like a lease in which the vendor prefers recurring revenue. Board members noted the county has other pressing needs—road repairs after the recent storm was raised as an example—but staff said the total remains the same and the county will plan for how to record the expense.