Commission approves GFOA consulting to prepare county for ERP procurement

The Board voted 5-0 to approve a consulting proposal from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) not to exceed $145,000 to lead a readiness project ahead of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) procurement.

County information technology and finance staff described the ERP effort as a multi-year project to replace or modernize the county’s finance and human-resources systems, including general ledger, payroll, benefits, procure-to-pay and budget modules. Staff said the county implemented its current system roughly 10 years ago and now faces substantial support, integration and modernization challenges, including limited vendor support, lack of APIs and maintenance burdens tied to legacy software.

The readiness project will convene roughly 30 internal staff across departments, document current policies and processes, identify gaps versus national best practices, and produce a set of requirements and procurement-ready materials (RFP language, testing criteria and contract guidance) to hold vendors accountable during procurement and implementation. Jamie Schuhr and Russell Schlapper described GFOA’s role in policy review, workflow analysis, budget and contract negotiation support and long-term vendor comparisons.

Commissioners asked about reporting and cybersecurity. Staff said reporting requirements are a key evaluation area and that modern cloud-hosted ERP options could improve business continuity and security. The readiness effort will also evaluate staffing needs, including possible temporary backfill for staff to participate in implementation and testing.

Commissioner Reed moved to approve the GFOA proposal; the motion passed 5-0. Staff will host a project kickoff (noted for April 7) and proceed with readiness workshops and schedule development.