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Commissioners press IT vendor for fixes, consider local staffing after repeated downtime
Summary
Keith County commissioners and staff discussed ongoing problems with their IT contractor, service downtime after a Windows upgrade, and options including vendor accreditation, hiring local staff, or a shared regional technician.
Keith County commissioners spent a substantial portion of the meeting reviewing repeated technical problems under the county's current IT arrangement and discussed next steps that could include bringing the vendor in to address issues, pursuing vendor accreditation for a local hire, or hiring a local technician shared with nearby counties.
Commissioners and staff described multiple outages and unresolved problems since the vendor moved to a call‑based support model. “We have to find solutions,” Commissioner Wartman said during a sustained discussion of help‑desk response, equipment compatibility and time spent by staff while systems were unavailable.
County IT-related staff and board members cited a recent incident where an older county computer could not be updated or used after the Windows 11 transition and a problem with scanners that initially were said to be incompatible but later got software workarounds. County staff said some computers were purchased through the vendor, complicating repair access; staff asked the vendor to explain which machines and peripherals will work with Windows 11 and to provide a timeline to resolve outstanding items.
The board asked staff to prepare a detailed list of outstanding IT problems, with line items and proposed timelines, and to invite the vendor to the next meeting or to the June 5 planning and zoning meeting. Commissioners discussed three broad options: (1) ask the vendor to accredit a local employee or provide a dedicated regional technician, (2) hire a county‑based technician who would meet vendor accreditation requirements, or (3) explore other local vendors. Commissioners said they would not consider new proposals from the current vendor until the outstanding issues had been addressed and a timeline provided.
No formal decision to change vendors or hire staff was made at the meeting; commissioners directed staff to gather a detailed problem list and to invite the vendor to meet and present a remediation plan and timeline.
