New state program, IT issues causing courthouse stress

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Those people familiar with Iowa?s Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) agree that it will eventually be a significant boost for the state, but currently, it is causing more pain than gain.

The EDMS is a tool by which all legal and court documents are filed electronically. Henry County was one of the last four Iowa counties to adopt the state-mandated system, doing so in April of 2015.

During Thursday?s Henry County Board of Supervisor meeting, Henry County Attorney Darin Stater said the system, along with IT issues at the courthouse, is causing his office a lot of stress.

?The EDMS is great for a lot of things and eventually will be a very good thing,? Stater told the board, ?but it is a lot of work.?

So much work that Stater says his office has a large backlog of work. ?The EDMS has increased my office?s workload by 30-40 percent,? he stated. ?Our girls are backlogged terribly, it takes much more time.?

The county attorney said he is looking at adding a full-time employee, but also will be reaching out to Iowa Wesleyan University and Mt. Pleasant Community High School about the possibility of hiring a student to do some of the work. Stater said both schools have had programs in the past where he was able to add a part-time employee.

Not only is the EDMS creating a time crunch for employees, the courthouse?s IT system also is not working adequately, Stater continued.

?Our IT (at the courthouse) is a mess,? he informed the board. ?You can?t have a system where the IT guy tells us we have to wait. Our computers are a mess right now, we aren?t getting anything done. If our computers aren?t working, we can?t work.?

Stater was quick to note that he has no problems with Derek Wellington, who handles the county?s technology system. ?This isn?t anything against Derek, but we need more help. These are very serious things that have to be addressed. We are getting a terrible backlog.?

Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee agreed that more technology help is needed at the courthouse. McNamee said he has technology problems from 2014 that have not been fixed. ?He (Wellington) addresses urgent issues and puts others on the back burner. We can?t be ignored forever. I am not knocking Derek. He is just too busy. He feels overwhelmed and it is too much work for one person.?

Shelly Barber, county auditor, said Wellington and Computer Solutions, the county?s technology troubleshooting firm, worked on computer problems all night Wednesday.

?Everybody feels they are a priority,? Barber said.

Stater said he hopes the problems are resolved soon. ?We either need more hands or something, it isn?t working,? he explained. ?It?s no one?s fault, and I don?t know what the solution is.?

Supervisors also briefed their peers on sub-committees.

Marc Lindeen reported on the meeting of the Tolson Community Action Center board. He said that the center?s Head Start program (for 3-5-year-olds) has openings for students.

Lindeen said that in the month of November, the center received 280 applications for winter heating assistance. Community Action spent $186,856 in Henry County in November, with the bulk of the total going to residents for assistance on their winter heating bills and weatherization products.

The supervisor also noted that the Tolson Center had appointments with 4,027 families, representing 10,568 people last month. Some of the visitors, though, made several trips to the center.

Supervisor Greg Moeller also gave a report on Wednesday?s meeting of the Regional Utilities Service Systems (RUSS) board of directors, which included a vote to almost double the bill for Mt. Union residents. After the first of the year, consumers in Mt. Union will be faced with charges of about $150 a month, due to the lack of payment from a handful of residents.

The board will meet again in regular session on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.