Commission Votes: Assessor Will Use New Software

The Crawford County Commission on Tuesday voted to switch up the software in the assessor’s office, a decision that seemed to leave Assessor Kelli Vestal frustrated.

Vestal’s office must undergo a switch from Governmentor to Vanguard. Vanguard meshes with Incode, a program that will be installed in the offices of the clerk, collector and treasurer. 

Incode bills itself as “an integrated ERP system designed to improve financial and personnel management.”  Based in Texas, Incode is used by counties and municipalities across the Midwest and officials believe it will be superior to the current set-up.

There appeared to be a miscommunication between the commission and Vestal on Tuesday.

Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders told Vestal the decision had been made for her office to go to Vanguard.

“When was that?” Vestal asked.

“Right now,” Sanders said.

Vestal said it was being done without her knowledge. 

“The last discussion was that I agreed if they went to Incode in the collector’s office, the assessor would pay for interfacing with Incode and Governmentor.”

However, District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast read from the October 23, 2018 minutes that said the assessor’s office would have six months to fix issues between Incode and Governmentor. 

In addition, Collector Pat Schwent announced on October 30 that she was switching to Incode. Schwent’s office is currently using DEVNET and the contract runs through 2020, but the county will be getting out of it.

Vestal told commissioners that in previous conversations, Schwent told her she was sticking with DEVNET.

“When I asked her a few weeks back, she said she couldn’t get out of DEVNET until 2020,” Vestal said.

However, Schwent said in October that going to Incode was a “no-brainer” because it was cheaper.

Vestal said she has constantly been asking for a contact for Incode to work with Governmentor. The assessor said Governmentor “works fine” and there are no issues, but the commission disagreed.

“Governmentor has not been working,” Sanders said, adding that he has received complaints from citizens. 

Vestal wanted names, but Sanders didn’t want to provide that. She said she has not received any complaints.