Clerk of court and county staff discuss phone-number migration as state switches systems

Representatives from the clerk of court and county IT staff told the Crawford County Board of Supervisors that the district court will move to a state-managed phone system on July 20 and asked whether the county can keep the existing phone numbers.

County IT staff said the county controls the numbers but that the county contract with the vendor runs through March 28, 2027. "In theory, there's going to be eight months ... we would be on the hook for that we wouldn't be using over those eight months," an IT staffer said, estimating a few thousand dollars in short-term cost if the state does not reimburse the county for unused months.

Options discussed included asking the state to reimburse the county for the unused contract period, absorbing the cost across the county’s remaining lines, or negotiating the contract at the end of the term. Several supervisors urged staff to contact state representatives and clarify reimbursement procedures; the item was scheduled for a formal action on next week’s agenda.

The board did not make a final decision at this meeting. County staff said they will meet with court staff to coordinate number transfers and will bring a proposal back to the board.