Mitchell County board approves joining regoV statewide county software program

Mitchell County supervisors voted Feb. 10 to approve participation in the regoV Iowa premium county software program and to proceed with an initial migration payment to move county systems from the current vendor.

Supporters told the board that the county has experienced recurring balancing and reconciliation problems with its current vendor, which several department heads said has impaired day-to-day accounting and online payment imports. A department head who spoke in favor of the change said, “we've been having troubles with balancing issues and recon issues and a lot of other issues with our current software company solutions,” and recommended purchasing the new software to address those concerns.

County staff outlined costs and timing. Meeting materials and staff statements referenced an initial migration fee of about $80,325 and described projected post-migration annual support and licensing costs; some speakers quoted slightly different figures during discussion. Brandon, a staff member who spoke during the discussion, explained that the current vendor bills separately for support and for hours of additional work. Supporters argued that paying the migration fee now would avoid paying two large $80,000-scale charges later and would allow Mitchell County to participate early in testing and to influence the product.

Supervisors also discussed timing and budget source. Staff said regoV’s vendor timeline anticipates beta testing and limited deployments through 2027–2028, so the county may run both systems during a transition period. A board member asked whether the migration payment should come from the IT budget or from the capital/subproject fund; staff suggested the capital fund could be used to avoid reducing next year’s carryover. One supervisor noted that participation includes county input on software design and testing.

After discussion, a supervisor moved to approve the regoV Iowa premium software program agreement; the motion was seconded and the board voted to approve the agreement. The county will move forward with migration planning and budgeting as discussed; staff said more detailed timelines and cost-breakdowns will return to the board as implementation steps are finalized.

The approval follows months of vendor review and presentations at meetings attended by county department heads. Next steps include formalizing contract details, confirming the budget source for the initial payment, and establishing county representation on vendor testing or governance groups.