Callahan County Commissioners Court approved an IT services agreement with Goldsmith Solutions on Aug. 11 after staff said the contract formalizes services that had previously been provided without detailed written terms.
County staff said the agreement follows TIPS purchasing guidelines and includes terms for termination, market-based pricing and a vendor insurance provision that allows the county to be added as an additional insured. “If we were to have a claim against the vendor... it gives us a direct path to the insurance company,” Sandra, county staff, told commissioners.
A commissioner raised concerns about monthly payments reflected in the accounts-payable report, saying the current check to Goldsmith Solutions appeared to be “nearly 28,000 this month.” Sandra and other staff clarified that some charges billed to Goldsmith are for third-party services—Microsoft licenses and hosted services—that would otherwise be paid directly to the third parties and that the AP entries are broken into different line items.
Why it matters: The county’s IT services affect court records, financial systems and online filings; formalizing the contract clarifies responsibilities, pricing and insurance coverage for vendor-provided services used across county operations.
Staff noted Shane reviewed the agreement and recommended approval. The contract includes a provision (page 9, item 20 in the draft) addressing vendor insurance and the process for adding the county as an additional insured on the vendor’s policy. Sandra said the county also maintains cyber insurance that would apply in some circumstances.
The commissioners moved to approve the agreement; Commissioner Windham made the motion and Commissioner McGowan seconded. All four commissioners present voted in favor.
Ending: Commissioners said they would address budget-line details at the upcoming budget workshop and reaffirmed that some hosted services billed through Goldsmith represent third-party licensing rather than markups by the vendor.