Jackson County commissioners on June 23 authorized a three-year cloud hosting agreement for the Revenue Commission office and approved the county’s annual insolvent property and business accounts list to be forwarded to state authorities.

The actions, taken during the commission’s regular meeting, came after Revenue Commissioner Jeff Arnold summarized the proposed contract and explained the annual insolvent-account process. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the hosting contract and to set aside the rules and approve the insolvent accounts and unsold tax-lien list for publication and state submission.

Why it matters: The hosting contract moves the Revenue Commission’s data and service access off a locally housed server to an external cloud provider, shifting recurring costs and daily backup responsibility to the vendor and changing the county’s operational and maintenance responsibilities. Approving the insolvent list is a routine but required annual step to clear accounts the county cannot collect and to comply with state reporting deadlines.

Arnold told the commission the agreement in the meeting packet is between Jackson County and a company identified there as Naturco, Incorporated. The contract as presented specifies an initial three-year term that automatically renews for successive one-year terms unless either party terminates the agreement. The vendor will provide daily backups using Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, or Google backup platforms and will deliver services through a web-based executable interface; the county will remain responsible for local internet connectivity and compatible web browsers.

The packet lists subscription fees for certain collections functionality at $2,625 per month for insurance-collection services and $2,625 per month for motor-vehicle registration/tag services, payable monthly in advance upon invoice. Arnold also told commissioners that hosting in the cloud is expected to reduce the county’s on-site server maintenance costs; he said an equivalent new physical server would cost roughly $70,000 and require recurring maintenance and cybersecurity expenses.

On the insolvent accounts, county staff said the list represents business or property accounts that are uncollectible because businesses closed, filed bankruptcy or never opened after registering; staff requested approval to advertise those accounts as insolvent so the county can meet state reporting requirements. Commissioners voted to set aside the rules to consider the item immediately, then approved the insolvent accounts and the unsold tax-lien list.

Decisions and next steps: The commission authorized the chairman to sign the hosting contract and directed staff to proceed with the vendor-managed hosting and daily backups under the contract terms. On the insolvent accounts, staff were authorized to proceed with the required advertisement and state submission.

Budget and operational context: Commissioners and the presenter contrasted cloud subscription costs with the capital and operating costs of replacing the county’s basement-hosted server. Arnold characterized cloud hosting as an industry-standard move that would shift some maintenance burdens off county IT resources.

Provenance: The revenue-hosting discussion appears in the meeting packet and is summarized by Revenue Commissioner Jeff Arnold; the hosting contract discussion runs from the packet presentation through the motion and vote. The insolvent-list discussion immediately followed and was handled as a separate motion during the same meeting.