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Ellis County approves UKG HR upgrade, to use ARPA funds after brief concerns about vendor support
Summary
The Ellis County Commission approved purchasing UKG timekeeping, scheduler and payroll modules, using ARPA funds to cover most of the cost; HR staff praised expected efficiencies while the county’s HR generalist warned about the vendorsupport based on past experience.
The Ellis County Commission voted to approve a purchase order for UKG human-resources software modules that will add timekeeping, scheduling and payroll to the county—s existing UKG suite. The motion, made during the Sept. meeting, passed after commissioners said the package—s efficiencies and a limited-time vendor discount justified moving forward.
County Administrator Darren told commissioners the county had set aside $45,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the project. The lowest quote to cover the system through 2026 came in just over $46,000, about $1,600 above the earmark; staff said the vendor was offering a phased implementation and an installation/implementation discount that would partially reduce the cost if the county acted before the vendor—s deadline.
Jennifer Taylor, the county—s HR director, told commissioners the additional UKG modules would reduce redundant data entry, let employees access payroll history and accruals online, and centralize recruitment, onboarding and learning modules into a single system. "By utilizing UKG with these additional models, the process will be streamlined," Taylor said, adding that managers and HR staff would see fewer manual steps in hiring, transfers and payroll processing.
Janice Schmidt, the HR generalist, expressed concern about UKG customer support based on earlier conversion experience. "If I do not get that customer service from UKG, I don't know where to go when I have a Thursday, and I can't get my ACH to the bank on time so that we get paid on Friday," Schmidt said, noting her top priority is ensuring employees are paid on schedule.
Staff told commissioners the rollout would be phased: timekeeping and scheduling first, followed by payroll in spring 2025. Technical discussion included options for tablet-based time clocks, geofencing by cost center to limit mobile clocking, and fallbacks for internet outages via manual logs and administrative entry. Commissioners asked that vendor-provided implementation and training services be confirmed and noted county IT and HR would coordinate the pilot and rollout.
The formal motion authorized the county administrator to sign the vendor agreement and purchase order for the modules needed to implement timekeeping, scheduling and payroll. County staff said training and installation were included in the vendor discount package being offered during the vendor—s promotional period. The commission recorded the purchase order approval and will monitor implementation and deadlines tied to ARPA funds.
