Miami County approves 3-year on-site IT contract for sheriffs office

The Miami County Commission on June 2 voted unanimously to reallocate existing budgeted funds in the sheriffs office IT line to a 36-month contractual agreement with Net Standard for on-site IT support.

County officials said the change will not add to the countys costs and will provide an on-site Net Standard technician two days per week. Undersheriff Matt Kelly told the commission the arrangement is intended to replace a vacant part-time IT position and reduce the long waits the sheriffs office has experienced for remote help. "We've been just trying to find somebody that could help, but none of our knowledge is IT based, and we're doing the best that we can. And it's just not getting the results that we need," Kelly said. "When we can't figure it out, we'll send somebody down, but it's based on their schedule, and we've seen it 2 or 3 weeks before somebody can get down. That means a car could be down for 2 weeks, 3 weeks ... So this will be, 2 days a week."

Commissioner Dideker moved to approve the Net Standard agreement as presented; Commissioner Vickery seconded the motion. The board voted "aye" unanimously. The service agreement addendum presented to commissioners specifies a 36-month term and requires 90 days' written notice to cancel; if the county terminates early without following that notice, the agreement carries a six-month service charge.

County staff said the reallocation repurposes money already in the sheriff's IT budget rather than creating a new appropriation, and Net Standard will provide substitute technicians if the regular on-site staff member is unavailable. The commission did not take separate action to hire a county employee for the position.

The approval completes the board action requested on the agenda; county staff will finalize the contract addendum with Net Standard and schedule the vendor's on-site support.