Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Courts It topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County moves court software change order — $64,400 requested as courts push to finish million-dollar system
Summary
County judiciary leaders asked the board to forward a $64,400 change-order request toward completion of a $1.1 million court-records software system that has experienced repeated delays and technical issues.
St. Clair County judiciary officials asked the Ways and Means Committee to forward a $64,400 contract change order to the full board to fund additional work on a countywide court-records software implementation.
The county contracted with a vendor to build an online filing and document system for circuit, district and probate courts; the total contract value if the project reaches go-live is about $1.1 million (figures discussed at the meeting). Over the last five years the project experienced repeated delays and technical problems, court administrators and judges told commissioners.
Court leadership explained the requested $64,400 would pay for corrective work and redoing portions of the system that were previously accepted in error; county counsel and administrators described it as a one-time payment so the vendor can finish specific items. The courts said they will not release final payment beyond the change order until the system is fully functional and accepted.
Commissioners expressed skepticism because the vendor has been working on the project for several years and the county previously declined milestone payments in favor of final-deliverable acceptance. Chief Judge West and other court leaders support the payment as a sign of good faith to finish the work, while several commissioners asked for more detailed warranty and testing language before final approval.
Committee members asked court staff to bring the vendor or the court administrator to a future meeting to explain the scope and testing process. Staff said the vendor is out of state and that in-person attendance would require travel; commissioners suggested a remote appearance. The committee voted to send the change order request to the full board for consideration.
The court software change order joins other county technology and modernization efforts; commissioners asked staff to confirm warranty, testing and ongoing-support commitments in writing before final board approval.
