Sedgwick County staff told the county commission at an agenda-review meeting that they will present a contract and a request to transfer budget authority from the county's rainy day reserve to pay for an upgrade to the county tax system.

The upgrade is now estimated in multiple presentations during the meeting at roughly $3.3 million to $3.6 million; staff said the final contracted amount shown in the bid board item will be presented to the commission for approval. "It is a 15 year old system," Lindsey, a county staff member, said, adding the county is moving from an on‑premises system to a hosted system and that the change should avoid capacity problems that recently caused a multi‑day outage.

A fit‑gap analysis completed since the initial TRB estimate increased the projected cost well beyond the $850,000 that had been identified previously for this year. Lindsey said staff will ask the commission to approve a transfer of budget authority from the rainy day reserve to cover the immediate gap and that the project, with an estimated 21‑month timeline, will likely require an additional transfer next January to move remaining funds into the technology and equipment reserve.

Why it matters: Sedgwick County's tax system handles collections for "100 plus taxing entities," Lindsey said, so the IT and budget choices affect multiple elected and appointed offices and other jurisdictions that rely on the county tax collection system.

County staff described the procurement history and current plan. The staff presentation said no formal RFP was done because the procurement path used an existing contract vehicle; staff characterized the work as a host migration plus configuration after the fit‑gap analysis. One county speaker said the total project cost could be "right at $3,600,000" when the hosting component for the first year is included.

The commission did not act on the item at the agenda‑review meeting; staff said the contract and the formal budget transfer request will appear on the commission agenda for consideration. No formal vote or approval occurred during the agenda review.

County staff asked commissioners to expect more than one future appearance by the item: the initial contract and rainy‑day transfer for this year, then a request next January to transfer remaining funds to complete the project.

Speakers and roles listed in the meeting record who discussed the item included Lindsey (county staff member), Tom (meeting facilitator), Kelly Arnold (county staff member identified by peers as a frequent system user), and Scott Wagner (participant). The staff presentation recommended the hosted system to reduce interruptions and address capacity constraints experienced with the older on‑premises system.

Budget and procurement context: staff said the Technology Review Board (TRB) had previously allocated about $850,000 for the project for the current year; the fit‑gap analysis produced a larger actual cost estimate, prompting the planned request to move funds from the rainy day reserve. Staff estimated the procurement and hosting timeline at about 21 months and said the contract will not be completed in 2025.

Next steps: staff will place the contract and associated budget transfer on the commission agenda for formal action. Commissioners asked staff to make technical and cost questions available in advance through the normal TRB or agenda materials process.

Ending: The county's presentation emphasized that the tax‑software project is intended to address recurring capacity problems and that the upgrade will affect many taxing jurisdictions that rely on Sedgwick County tax processing. Staff said they will return with the formal contract and budget transfer request for commission consideration.