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County IT to move tax system to hosted Momentum platform in multi-county arrangement
Summary
Clay County approved joining a four-county hosting contract for the Momentum tax system to reduce local hardware and maintenance burden; the proposed 36-month hosted contract will cost $60,000 annually with a $12,500 one-time setup if four counties sign on.
Clay County IT and tax staff proposed moving the county's Momentum tax system from an on-premises server to a vendor-hosted platform to reduce internal hardware costs and ongoing maintenance. The board approved joining a multi-county hosting arrangement contingent on a four-county volume agreement that allows a lower per-county price.
Rationale and scope: The county currently hosts Momentum on local servers and requires frequent patches and after-hours maintenance. Initial vendor pricing in December was higher than the county found acceptable; after negotiations the vendor (Momentum) offered a reduced price if four counties participate. Clearwater, Rice and Roseau counties are the other participants referenced; the joint proposal reduces annual costs and eliminates an immediate server/hardware refresh and associated procurement work.
Funding: County staff and finance reviewed internal-service fund balances and determined the migration could be funded from the internal services line over three fiscal years; the county expects to cover the first 36 months of the contract from existing internal-service budget lines.
Vote: The Board approved entering the hosted contract and funding approach. Staff indicated they will continue to evaluate opportunities for future cost-sharing or alternative funding (including potential American Rescue Plan or other grants) but said moving off on-premises would reduce the burden on IT staff and limit the need for frequent emergency patches.
Next steps: IT staff will finalize the contract and coordinate a migration schedule and data security review with the vendor; staff said each county will maintain independent data partitions in the hosted environment and that the multi-county arrangement was a cost-volume decision, not a data-sharing arrangement.
