Commissioners postpone decision on ERP contract; auditor raises transparency concerns about process and costs

Wallowa County commissioners delayed action on a proposed enterprise resource planning (ERP) contract and agreed to review the negotiated documents before taking public action. Auditor Karen Martin asked that commissioners have an opportunity to review and discuss the selection process and the contract terms before the board signs any agreement.

Lede: Commissioners moved to table consideration of the county’s ERP contract until next week so each commissioner can review the negotiated contract documents; the auditor said she wants open discussion about the procurement process, costs and how the project will be paid for in county budgets.

Nut graf: The county received an end-of-life notice for its current financial/ERP software years earlier; staff and a core committee have worked on replacement options and vendor demonstrations. Commissioner concerns raised at the Feb. 18 meeting focused on procurement transparency, comparative costs among vendors, whether all vendors received the same opportunity to respond to amended specifications, and how the chosen solution will be funded.

Discussion points - Timeline and process: Commissioners said a core committee and IT staff conducted demos and reference checks. Commissioner Kimball asked that the board receive the negotiated contract and have at least one week to review it before any signature. Commissioners also discussed that the contract materials would be added to the meeting backup so that they can review over the weekend.

- Auditor’s concerns: County Auditor Karen Martin asked that the board review the procurement sequence and have an open opportunity to question how vendor selection and contract negotiations proceeded, particularly where pricing and implementation approach differ between vendors.

- Vendor and implementation risk: Commissioners and staff noted other jurisdictions’ multi-year ERP conversions; concerns included implementation timeline, hidden costs, vendor support, and whether the recommended vendor’s references and comparative performance had been weighed appropriately.

Action and next steps - The board agreed to table formal action until next week; staff committed to deliver the negotiated contract in the meeting backup and commissioners said they would review and raise clarifying questions at the next meeting.

Ending: Commissioners set the ERP contract for continued discussion at the next scheduled session once the contract materials are made available in the agenda packet and members have had time to review them.