The Morrison County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation at its planning session on Tuesday, April 16 about plans to replace the aging records management system used by the county sheriff’s office and several local police departments. The Little Falls City Council heard a similar presentation at its meeting on Monday, April 15.
For over a decade, the county has relied on a system from Law Enforcement Technology Group (LETG) to store records, facilitate computer-aided dispatch of 911 calls and manage the county jail. However, those before the Board said the system was outdated and unable to keep up with technological advances. These people included Sgt. Doug Rekstad, Office Support Supervisor Mary Swenson and Sheriff Shawn Larsen of the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office, as well as IT Director Amy Middendorf.
In late 2022, LETG announced it would be sunsetting support for the existing software. This prompted Larsen and Middendorf to form a stakeholder group comprising representatives from all law enforcement agencies that use the system, with their first meeting being held on Nov. 4, 2022 to define the project and what next steps to take.
Over the past year, the group has researched replacement options and issued a request for proposals on May 1, 2023. They received responses from four vendors and arranged demonstrations of each system, starting Aug. 1, 2023. By Feb. 1, scoring of each proposal was completed and preliminary contract negotiations began. After extensive review and feedback from stakeholders, their recommendation was to implement a new records management system from Oracle America, Inc.
Oracle’s software was praised for its user-friendly interface and ability to streamline processes for officers, dispatchers and jail staff. It also integrates computer-aided dispatching and jail management features directly with records, avoiding separate systems that currently require data to be manually re-entered.
Perhaps most importantly, officials say Oracle demonstrated a commitment to customer service that addresses past issues. The company is also actively working with Wright and Sherburne counties to develop the software based on real-world law enforcement needs.
“Oracle was extremely competitive,” Swenson said. “We had four vendors come in. Oracle was the lowest of the four and they offered the most. Now owning their own cloud is just a huge plus for us. Because we own everything, if we have an issue, they have their engineers right there to fix it, to implement it to move forward. We shouldn’t see many glitches that way. But cost-wise, they were number one.”
Although it at first appeared the county had no choice but to switch from their current software, in May 2023 LETG rescinded its end-of-life announcement, meaning the county could have continued to use it. However, the system being increasingly outdated and uncertainty on when LETG could end services again gave stakeholders enough reason to continue seeking a new software provider. Larsen said Morrison County was not alone in this line of reasoning.
“I would say 90% (of counties), if not higher, are looking for different vendors that are currently in the same stages that we are,” Larsen said. “We need a breath of fresh air. So we’re looking at if we’re having issues now, what’s going to change in the future? I think it’s time we move forward with a company that we’ve been reassured that we feel good about, that will take care of our needs.”
Although all cities within the county that currently use LETG also have the opportunity to switch to Oracle if Morrison County does, two cities within Todd County that also used Morrison County’s LETG system since 2010, Long Prairie and Staples, have migrated away from the shared system.
If approved, the five-year contract with Oracle would cost $205,871.24 for the first year, $119,564.67 annually for the second and third years and $125,539.80 annually for years four through six. Funding would come from the county’s public safety aid allocation. An existing levy of $60,000 specifically for law enforcement software would start going toward funding part of the Oracle software costs in the third year, slightly increasing in amount each subsequent year. For the first two years, that levy would still fund the LETG software as all data is being transferred from the old system to the new one. Officials believe this plan minimizes tax impacts while keeping the county’s law enforcement technology up to date.
The commissioners did not vote on the proposal at the meeting but said they would place it on the upcoming consent agenda after further review at its Tuesday, April 23 meeting.
The Little Falls City Council approved its portion of the software upgrade during its April 15 meeting.
Little Falls Police Chief Kyle Johnson explained how his department’s Records Management System (RMS) software was purchased in 2009 and is nearing the end of its life.
Of the new Oracle software, Johnson said, “Oracle is a large, established technology company that would provide upgraded features like mobile apps and cloud-based storage. Tablets would also replace laptops in squad cars, saving on replacement costs over the long run.
For the City of Little Falls, the estimated first year cost for the new Oracle system is $99,203, which was budgeted for by the police department. Johnson said the costs were being distributed as follows: Implementation costs of $63,576 and annual recurring maintenance costs of about $34,000.
The annual maintenance cost of $34,000 is slightly higher than the current $30,000 annual cost for the existing, outdated system, Johnson said. The annual cost increase of $4,000 was deemed reasonable by the City Council, as signified by council members’ unanimous approval of the request, because of the upgraded features and long-term savings on equipment replacement.
The total cost over the 3-year/36-month contract period for the City of Little Falls is $160,406, he said. Data conversion is also included in these costs, Johnson added.
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