The DOS system
which the County has had in place for its payroll and financials since 1991
will undergo about a year-long transition to a Windows system operated by
Low Associates of South Bend.
At their meeting
Tuesday, the Porter County Commissioners unanimously accepted County Auditor
Vicki Urbanik and the project committee’s recommendation for Low Associates
and to purchase the software at less than $160,000.
The total purchase
will be about $57,000 more for training employees on the software and
converting the data into the new system. That includes a $6,000 consultant
contract for Former County IT Director Sharon Lippens who will assist with
the conversion.
The new system,
which is expected to go live sometime next spring, will give all departments
in the County the ability to monitor their spending and what their budgets
are doing.
“We know it’s a
major investment that will have many positive impacts for many, many years
to come,” Urbanik said. “This is not a short-term upgrade.”
The bulk of the
installation will be paid for out of the auditor’s non-reverting fund that
has recovered revenues from improperly received homestead deductions. With
the non-reverting fund, Urbanik said the system can be paid for without
hitting the County’s General Fund too hard.
Urbanik said she
feels the non-reverting fund should be used for special purposes and not
ongoing operating costs. “I can think of no other better project at this
time than to upgrade our software.”
Commissioner Jeff
Good, R-Center said although the cost is large, this will be coming off of
an old DOS based system.
“I think it’s time.
It’s way past time,” Good said. “This is a big huge upgrade to everybody.
It’s well overdue.”
Low Associates also
developed the tax software for the County Assessor’s Office and works in
some capacity with 57 percent of Indiana counties. “We know their
professionalism. We know their response for technical service,” Urbanik
said.
The Committee was
made of up department heads in the County Human Resource Department, IT
Dept., the Treasurer’s and the Auditor’s offices.
Another piece to
this will be an employee time and attendance system with the payroll
component. Urbanik said that will be a separate contract and the Committee
is looking at a company that will use fingerprint scanning, badge swipes and
computers to clock-in.
The Committee will
make a recommendation soon and the time clock function is expected to be
ready when the system launches.
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