Howdy! I'm Jordan Green, a Report for America corps member covering underserved communities in East Texas for the Longview News-Journal. I'm a native Okie and have been a newsman since 2017. Email me at jgreen@news-journal.com or call me at 903-237-7743.
The Gregg County Commissioners Court voted Monday to move forward with the implementation of a new county software program that officials say will improve virtually all aspects of county operations. The cost of the software is $3.5 million.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a 10-year contract with Precision Task Group, a Houston-based firm that works alongside public and private entities to implement new software programs. With the firm's help, the county will begin using a new enterprise resource planning software program called Workday, which basically contains all the programs a government entity or business needs to operate -- from payroll to budgeting to human resources and more.
The county's existing software program is about 30 years old, Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt said, and replacing the software was one of the county's top capital expenditures budgeted for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Implementation could last 18 months, wrapping up in February 2026.
The county's existing software system is antiquated, has a lack of integration between county departments, is time-consuming to use and isn't user-friendly, according to a presentation county officials made during Monday's commissioners meeting.
The new Workday program, however, will consolidate information into one system that's easier for all county department officials to access, according to the presentation. It'll simplify employee recruitment, streamline the payroll process, fully automate the county's budget preparation and transfer process, make reports easier to generate and more.
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Stoudt thanked the committee of county officials who helped moved the project forward, saying the implementation of the software won't be easy.
"It's going to be a tough challenge, but I know we're all up to making that happen," he said. "We certainly need to do this, being a 30-plus-year replacement that we're doing."
Over the course of the next 10 years, the county will pay almost $4.5 million to ensure the software is updated and maintained, Stoudt said.
The court on Monday also approved a change to a voting location for the Nov. 5 election. Gregg County Elections Administrator Jennifer Briggs told commissioners that the Sabine ISD voting location has been moved to the Hugh Camp Memorial Park Boy Scout Hut, 5716 Old Highway 135 N. in Kilgore. School officials requested the change, Briggs said.
School officials will post signs and inform voters to go to Hugh Camp Memorial Park to vote. The change is reflected on the county's online list of voting locations.
The court also voted Monday to spend $41,500 to repair a jet bridge at the East Texas Regional Airport. The jet bridge connects planes to the terminal, allowing passengers to walk into the building. The bridge needs to be repaired, although county officials plan to purchase a new jet bridge in the future.