Potter County approves $13,200 website hosting and $25,000 ERP change order for software integration

Potter County commissioners on Aug. 24 approved two IT-related budget items: an increase to the website-hosting pricing from TAC/CIRA and a $25,000 change order for the ERP system to enable data connection with the county’s grant-management software.

Julie Smith (S18) explained that TAC/CIRA is adjusting pricing to meet a 2027 ADA compliance requirement and that the county’s previously budgeted $6,000 would need to rise to about $13,200; Brandon (S6) said the board needed a motion to add roughly $7,200 into the IT maintenance account. The court approved the increase by voice vote.

Brandon described the ERP change order as necessary one-time development work because the two software systems could not natively ‘‘talk’’ to each other; he characterized it as a legitimate change order and the court approved the $25,000 request by motion (5–0). Staff said they had sought cooperation from both software vendors but the intermediate development step was unavoidable.

County staff noted the IT vendor landscape and told commissioners TAC/CIRA is a Texas nonprofit that other counties use; they said other vendors could be more costly. Commissioners approved budget adjustments to account for these expenses and directed staff to proceed with the vendor payments and ERP integration work.