Cass County commissioners approved a budget adjustment to cover software integration costs after the county’s prosecutor’s office migrated to the CARPEL system and the county sought to restore earlier integrations among courts, the sheriff’s office and prosecution.

County staff said the prosecutor’s system is now on CARPEL (also referenced in the transcript variously as "Carpel/Carpell/Carpel"), and the integration work includes costs from multiple vendors: CARPEL-related integrations, SolidCircle work for the sheriff’s department, a custom export tool to move evidence data out of Vault, and Evidence.com subscription and integration fees. Staff identified a specific integration line item of $47,750 that would be added in 2026 on top of prior implementation costs.

The county’s prosecutor noted the statewide migration to CARPEL was not a local preference but a state-driven change because OnBase was being retired. The prosecutor said the CARPEL rollout included a three-year free period for local offices and that the state board had recommended a possible fourth free year because the statewide rollout came in under budget.

Commissioners requested a written breakdown of integration costs; staff said a detailed listing was available and would be circulated. The board approved the motion to authorize the integration and related budget adjustments by voice vote.

Staff described the action as restoring prior functionality that existed when the county used OnBase, including data sharing and avoiding double entry across systems. The board did not withhold approval; commissioners asked that status updates and cost breakdowns be provided in future reports.