Flagler County directs administrator to finalize ERP contract details, aims for March meeting

Flagler County commissioners on Thursday directed the county administrator to work with constitutional officers and staff to finalize terms of a planned enterprise resource planning (ERP) financial software implementation and return a recommended contract amendment at the board's first March meeting.

The move follows more than two years of planning and funding for a replacement financial package, and a debate at the Feb. 21 special meeting about whether initial planning should happen in public under Florida's open-meetings (Sunshine) requirements. Commissioners and county staff said the county already has budgeted money to begin implementation but wants a clear agreement among stakeholders on governance, hosting, access and modules before signing.

Tom Bexley, Flagler County clerk and comptroller, urged a two-step approach: an initial work group operating in the sunshine to establish high-level governance and a separate implementation team, not subject to open-meeting rules, to perform operational work. "We found ourselves in yet another interesting situation," Bexley said, introducing the need for a memorandum of understanding and a stakeholder work group. He said the work group should "lay out the initial pieces of the financial package" including hosting, modules, costs, time frames and implementation responsibilities.

County Administrator Jerry Cameron, speaking as a newly installed administrator, told the board that completing the purchase would convert budgeted funds into a concrete commitment. "This money is actually a bird in the bush. By making a decision to go ahead with a purchase, it becomes a bird in the hand," Cameron said, urging the county to move forward while negotiations and governance details are finalized.

County Attorney cautioned commissioners about Sunshine Law pitfalls, saying planners should avoid creating a hybrid group that would unintentionally restrict necessary staff-to-staff communications. "A group cannot, as it deems appropriate, switch the Sunshine Law on and off," the attorney said, and recommended keeping final decision points posted and open while allowing operating staff to work through technical details.

Stakeholder offices expressed support for moving ahead while reserving the right to protect their operational needs. Katie Lanhardt, supervisor of elections, said her office has long wanted an upgrade to handle payroll demands on election days and welcomed a work group to resolve remaining details. "We've been really interested in implementing a new financial software package," Lanhardt said, noting the office's payroll needs for roughly 200 poll workers on election day.

Mark Strowbridge, representing the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, said the sheriff's office is willing to participate in a users group but may pursue its own procurement if countywide agreement blocks its progress. Jared Shoop, the county's innovation and IT director, and Carlos Garcia, chief information officer for the clerk of the court, described remaining technical and data-migration items such as transferring historical information from SunGard to Tyler Munis and agreeing module selections and administrative roles.

Laurie Bailey Brown, Flagler County financial services director, said vendor pricing from Tyler Technologies has been held for the county since 2014 and urged approval of the contract amendment while the MOU and governance details are completed. "Tyler Technologies has held this pricing since 2014 for us," Bailey Brown said, urging the board to move forward with the amendment and then finalize a memorandum of understanding governing the users group.

No formal board vote was taken at the special meeting. Commissioners agreed by consensus to direct County Administrator Jerry Cameron to coordinate with constitutional officers and staff, form the stakeholder group, and present a recommendation and the contract amendment for board action at the first March meeting. A member of the public, Ed Fuller of Palm Coast, urged commissioners to proceed: "As a member of the public, I think it's time to go. Move forward," he said during public comment.

Next steps identified by participants include forming the stakeholder work group, confirming module selections and administrative access rules, negotiating payment scheduling with Tyler Technologies consistent with current budget constraints, and completing any required amendments so the board can take formal action at its March meeting.