County staff weigh outsourcing payroll and deploying employee portal to reduce admin burden

Ouray County administration reported options this week to modernize payroll and employee services: either extend current Tyler system with an add‑on, or outsource payroll processing and provide employee portals for timekeeping, benefits and self‑service.

Why it matters: department leaders said payroll consumes substantial staff time and creates friction when employees must track leave and overtime manually. Commissioners and staff noted portals improve accuracy, allow real‑time time‑off requests, and can streamline benefits open enrollment and W‑4/withholding updates.

Staff said vendor proposals show annual outsourcing costs in the low‑to‑mid five figures (one local vendor quoted roughly $12,000/year), with an implementation timeline of about 9–12 weeks. Officials noted potential incentives (two years of free W‑2s on some sign‑up offers). Staff recommended following formal procurement rules before contract award and providing targeted training for employees and supervisors when the system is deployed.

Commissioners asked staff to run procurement under county policy, obtain comparative bids, and present a recommended vendor and training plan. No purchase or contract award was completed in the meeting.