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Houghton County presses IT vendor VC3 for on‑site support after service failures
Summary
County officials at a June 12 special meeting criticized VC3’s remote support after login failures, server problems and a stalled computer setup left staff — including the prosecutor’s office — unable to work. Commissioners requested an inventory and discussed adding on‑site IT.
Houghton County commissioners on June 12 pressed VC3, the county’s contracted information‑technology vendor, for faster response times and an on‑site technician after repeated service failures left staff unable to access systems and raised concerns about election night connectivity.
Teresa Hill, Houghton County human resources manager, introduced several VC3 staff members who joined by Microsoft Teams. Denise Douglas, a VC3 representative, told the board the company recently lost three employees and that the county’s support workflow routes email tickets to a First Call Resolution queue. "For major issues we recommend calling VC3 so the ticket can go to level 2," Douglas said, adding that "the RSA is not working correctly and there is a lot of login issues" and that phone processing and several servers are not functioning as expected.
The reporting of technical failures extended to specific operational impacts. Dan Helmer, Houghton County prosecutor, said a newly hired assistant prosecutor could not work because the employee’s computer "was not installed correctly." Chief Deputy County Clerk Rennee Cunningham and County Clerk Jennifer Kelly said they worried about election‑night access when their election vendor, Fidlar, needed to connect to county servers.
Administrator Rheault told the board the county’s contract with VC3 began April 7, 2025, for $20,000 per month. Commissioners debated whether VC3 could staff an on‑site technician; VC3 representatives said roughly half of the eight counties they serve have on‑site IT and that someone could be assigned to Houghton County. "We were told all the servers were rebuilt, but found out after the previous IT left that only one server was barely functioning," Chairman Tom Tikkanen said, describing a discrepancy between what the county expected and what VC3 found.
Airport Manager Dennis Hext described multiple unresolved tickets for airport systems and asked that VC3 be given photos or documentation to help technicians understand the on‑site equipment. Sheriff Saaranen, joining by Microsoft Teams, said he "does not have confidence in what we currently have" and plans to meet with Commissioners Roy Britz and Joel Keranen about another IT company he has contacted.
VC3 asked the county for time to review options internally. County staff agreed to provide VC3 with employee contact information and to schedule a follow‑up meeting. Commissioners also requested a complete inventory of the county’s IT assets so officials can verify what hardware and credentials exist.
No procurement decision or formal vote on replacing VC3 was taken at the meeting. The board adjourned at 1:21 p.m. on a motion by Commissioner Joel Keranen, seconded by Commissioner Glenn Anderson; the motion carried by voice vote (Ayes 2, Nays 0).
