Ray County commissioners are preparing to review phone services across county government after discussions with a communications provider identified immediate monthly savings and additional opportunities to reduce recurring costs.

Commissioners recently met with Bill Rounds of Kansas Communications to review the county’s current phone services and discuss ways to reduce recurring communication expenses.

Rounds explained Kansas Communications recently completed an audit of the county’s phone services, which identified changes expected to reduce monthly costs by about $130. The projected savings reflect a new method of calculating taxes on the county’s phone services while also accounting for several services that had not previously been billed.

According to Rounds, calculating taxes based on phone usage rather than by individual phone line would reduce the county’s monthly bill by about $343. However, the audit also found several services that had not previously been billed, offsetting par…