Commissioners court tables approval of implementation services

Ellis County commissioners tabled approval of a $530,000 contract with BerryDunn for implementation services of new Motorola Solutions software during their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 23.

The court had previously approved a contract with Motorola for new computer-aided dispatch, records management and jail management systems. BerryDunn was then presented to help manage the two-year implementation with Motorola.

BerryDunn senior consultant Terry Bohan told commissioners the company would oversee the project and implementation over two years with an estimated 1,900 manhours. He said they have identified 21 key activities they would supervise and coordinate between the county staff and Motorola. Within their proposal, they would have biweekly status reports with the sheriff’s office and send monthly reports to county executives.

Bohan said they would look for potential risks of going over the proposed budget and proposed schedule.

“What we do is identify those risks, come up with plans to mitigate those risks and keep the implementation moving, so that you can reach a successful implementation of the system,” Bohan said.

He stressed the importance of ensuring systems are implemented properly because they lay the foundation for future systems in the county.

Chief Deputy Alex Zurfas explained to the court why BerryDunn’s implementation services were needed.

“We’re cops. We’re not IT guys. We don’t know technology in that way,” Zurfas said. “The 1,900 hours that Terry’s talking about is not additional time that we have to do this. That’s got to come from somewhere. We don’t have the additional resources to dedicate that time to this project.”

Commissioner Paul Perry said he did not feel comfortable voting yes because he felt they did not have enough information.

“One of my biggest concerns is duplication of services,” Perry said. “Two companies in a room, and we don’t have clear spheres of responsibility. We have no idea what that’s going to be yet.”

Commissioner Lane Grayson said he was in the same place as Perry two weeks ago, but he was able to sit down and get more information from Bohan the previous day and now feels more comfortable with the decision.

Commissioner Randy Stinson said he felt they needed checks and balances with BerryDunn, so they would be held accountable.

Cherie Batsel, assistant county and district attorney, said she would feel more comfortable if they were able to sit down with BerryDunn and create a contract that includes specific deliverables and points of accountability.

The court tabled the vote to allow Bohan and BerryDunn to gather more information from Motorola and write a detailed plan of what services will be used.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the contract in the coming weeks once more information has been presented.

Originally published August 26, 2022 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/commissioners-court-tables-approval-of-implementation-services/article_ab1c4f52-25a0-11ed-8d99-f35aad015f96.html