Computer system for sheriff gets first OK

A complete overhaul of the Kane County sheriff's office computer system will be phased in over the next two years at a cost of $3 million under a plan reviewed by the county board's finance committee Tuesday.

That's half as much as was projected when the plan was first reviewed by county officials earlier this year. The cost savings is a result of phasing in the project.

The new proposal calls for delaying implementation of a new computer-aided dispatch system until at least 2009. The move means the county won't pay licensing fees and annual maintenance costs until then.

"We're only buying one-third of the software now," said IT Director Roger Fahnestock.

In addition to the dispatch system, the project also includes new records management and field reporting systems and integration with the county's global information systems. It will allow better integration between the sheriff's office, state's attorney's office, circuit clerk and local law enforcement agencies, officials said.

The finance committee approved a $1.3 million bid from Troy, Mich.-based New World Systems for a software and hardware package. A $997,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will fund most of that first phase of the project with the balance paid with cash on hand.

The board will consider the second project phase, estimated at $1.7 million, in early 2009, Fahnestock said.

The overhaul comes as the sheriff's office prepares to move from its current headquarters in Geneva to the new jail under construction in St. Charles Township. The move is scheduled to take place next year when the jail opens.

The sheriff's office's server is eight years old and its operating system is 10 years old. Most of the support servers are at least five years old, according to Fahnestock. He expects the new system to serve the county for at least the next decade.

Two local emergency dispatch agencies, Tri-Com, which serves Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles, and QuadCom, which serves the Carpentersville and Dundee area, also use New World Systems.

The proposal is expected to be approved by the full county board next month.