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Board authorizes sale of surplus MIS equipment and notifies MSIS of intent to withdraw from payroll service
Summary
Cook County authorized MIS to sell surplus equipment through the Minnesota bid site and instructed the county auditor to send notice of withdrawal from MSIS payroll services. MIS staff said sales could recoup value; auditor said the county aims to move to an integrated payroll/HR system (UKG) to eliminate duplicated data entry.
Cook County commissioners on March 11 approved two related MIS actions: authorization to sell surplus MIS equipment through the Minnesota bid (MNbid) site and authorization for the county auditor to send formal notice of withdrawal from MCIS/MSIS payroll services.
MIS staff described a planned sale of decommissioned equipment — including large-format printers, replaced CCTV/security cameras (roughly 57 dome cameras in the inventory), network switches and other hardware — on the MNbid auction site. Staff said they would post photos, model information and condition notes for representative items and use MNbid to recover value rather than scrapping functional equipment.
Separately, Auditor Brady summarized a several-year effort to migrate off MSIS payroll because the county’s payroll and HR systems are not integrated; MSIS requires double data entry for employee records. Brady said the county is evaluating UKG as the best replacement, but the county must notify MCIS by April 1 under the joint powers agreement if it intends to withdraw so MCIS can plan staffing and budgeting. Brady said similar counties that migrated report better integration and reporting and that the base subscription costs for alternatives appear lower than the county’s current MSIS charges. Commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the notice of withdrawal.
Nut graf: Staff and commissioners characterized the equipment sales as routine asset management and described the MSIS notice as a preparatory step necessary to pursue a replacement payroll system; Brady cautioned the county is not yet under contract with a new vendor and could reverse course if migration plans stall.
Details and process: MIS staff said they will list representative photos and item descriptions for the 57 dome cameras, printers and other surplus equipment and follow MNbid procedures. Brady said Cook County previously attempted a payroll migration in 2018–2019 unsuccessfully but that a multi‑department team (MIS, HR, auditor) has evaluated options and met with vendors; the auditor said a transfer to a modern integrated system would reduce manual spreadsheets and double entry. Brady noted the highway department still uses eTime for cost accounting and that integration of timekeeping remains a dependency in the IT transition.
Ending: The board approved both actions unanimously and asked staff to pursue vendor discussions while preserving the option to remain with MSIS if a migration is not feasible.
