Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley — The Iron County Board of Supervisor’s Finance Committee approved the purchase of a new software system for the sheriff’s department and dispatcher center Thursday.
Darrell Petrusha, who handles many of the county’s technology needs, described the system as a “complete operating system” for the county’s dispatch center — handling everything from keeping records of reports and processing booking information to a mapping software when dispatching calls.
“This is all-inclusive in this system, instead of us being piecemeal up there with what we have now,” said Petrusha.
The software can also be used in the county’s squad cars, according to Petrusha, and can also be accessed by local ambulance services and the Hurley Police Department.
While several county officials at the meeting expressed disappointment at the price tag of $294,787 over five years, Petrusha said the county would have to pay more if they put the purchase off.
He said he had reached out to the company, Spillman Technologies, to see if it would honor the current price in the future and not only would the price go up but the county would lose the opportunity to finance the system over five years without paying interest.
“They said basically … they would need a check for $408,000 if they want to implement (the system),” Petrusha said.
Given the significant price hike, there was an agreement it didn’t make sense to put off the purchase.
“I don’t want to spend $300,000 … but, I would really feel stupid if two years from now we more or less had to and then it’s $400,000 and it’s 3 percent interest,” Clerk Mike Saari said. “We have a one time opportunity to do this.”
While the cost wasn’t budgeted for this year, Petrusha said the upcoming payments will be covered by his existing budget, due to a lack of other capital outlay projects.
In response to concerns raised by Sheriff Tony Furyk regarding hidden costs, Petrusha said the purchase included training for county employees and software updates over the life of the system.
While there are annual maintenance fees — which would exist with any software system — Petrusha said the first two years of fees have been waived.
He also argued the company is a reputable, nation-wide company and believes the software change should end some of the problems the dispatching center has been experiencing.
In other action:
—The committee discussed the county’s budget for the next fiscal year. While some numbers need to be finalized, the county’s levy is expected to increase — largely due to the county’s decision to take out a loan to cover emergency placements, rather than trying to cover the costs from the county’s general fund.
—The committee approved giving Judicial Administrator Ilene Giacomino a raise, setting her salary at $51,771.
