Cass County IT reports systems upgrades; recorder seeks approval for Fiddler workstations

County information-technology staff reported a string of system upgrades and troubleshooting efforts and the recorder's office received approval to obtain new workstations through its contract with Fiddler.

IT staff (identified in the record as Austin) reported work in July that included upgrades to Windows 11 on sheriff deputy computers, rollout of a jail-tracking system (noted as having gone live July 15), troubleshooting Odyssey connectivity with the state, correction of an auto-update problem that affected VPN software, and the start of implementation for a new time-clock system called Right Stuff. Austin said data exports to Document Mountain saved money but required additional time for cleanup and validation.

On a separate agenda motion, the recorder's office sought continuation of its agreement with Fiddler for workstations tied to that vendor contract. The recorder's office representative (Beth) explained pricing is shown and credited under the existing contract; the board approved a motion to proceed with the Fiddler workstations.

IT staff also discussed the county's duress alarm system (branded SecureTech in the record). Austin said the main duress unit — about 13 years old and with an expected 10–15 year life — will be replaced. When asked how often the duress alarm has been used, Austin said, “It's been used a lot more than what I thought it would be when we got it,” and described several incidents in the clerk's office that prompted activations. No procurement dollar amounts for workstation purchases were disclosed during the meeting.

The meeting record includes multiple operational updates but does not list specific budget line items or implementation deadlines for the systems discussed.