New IT systems administrator position also backed

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

In response to a state mandate for the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) to have “e-filing” in place at the county level, the Oneida County Board approved a resolution Tuesday to install Wi-Fi network connectivity throughout the courthouse at a cost not to exceed $52,920.

County Board chairman Dave Hintz noted he typically doesn’t like state mandates, but said this instance “is a little different.”

“I think it’s pushing us along to do something we should do, which is unusual that we get a mandate that pushes us along,” said Hintz, who pointed out the resolution goes beyond the mandate for e-filing by having Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the entire courthouse.

“It would be difficult to walk into a school today, or a business, where there’s not Wi-Fi connectivity,” he said. “I think it’s something we’ve fallen a little behind on, and it’s something that it’s about time to proceed with.”

County clerk of court Brenda Behrle said mandatory e-filing went into effect this year as of July 1, but is being implemented as counties are ready.

“We have been paperless since January of 2016,” Behrle said. “We began voluntary e-filing last August of 2015. We have done total e-filing of traffic forfeiture citations going back to October of 2014. We are scheduled to have mandatory e-filing Dec. 1 of this year.”

Behrle said Wi-Fi needs to be installed at the courthouse, so that legal counsel, pro se litigants and the public have access to court-related documents. She noted right now those documents can be accessed at two public terminals in the clerk of court’s office, where use for those terminals has been increasing.

To handle the county’s information technology needs, supervisors also approved the creation of a new full-time systems administrator position. The resolution passed notes “there is not enough staff to meet the support demands of the users and systems of Oneida County.”

The position is designated at the “Grade Level H” of the county’s non-exempt wage schedule with the total annual wages and benefits ranging from $63,636 at the “Step 1” level to $69,447 at “Step 6.” Based on the resolution’s effective date of Aug. 27, and through the end of the year, the fiscal impact of the total wages and benefits for 2016 would be $21,742 at Step 1 to $23,757 at Step 6.

County human resources director Lisa Charbarneau said the new position will be advertised to fill.