Commission approves $1M change order and 8‑month extension for county ERP implementation

County project staff told commissioners they recommend a change order with IBM to extend the project by about eight months and add roughly $1,000,000 to the IBM implementation contract to address schedule and staffing shortfalls.

Jeremy Walker summarized the request: “That is about 1,000,000 dollars for the change order,” and staff said the total CIP authorization remains $5,000,000 while the county’s current spend on the project is approximately $2,000,000. Staff cited expectation gaps, burnout, and vendor-side management changes—ASTs being purchased by IBM and a replaced project manager—as contributing factors.

Commissioners discussed programmatic norms for ERP projects, noted the county remains within its CIP authorization, and approved the change order by voice vote. Staff said they will report back if additional funding becomes necessary and will explain any future requests with causes and justification.