For nearly a decade, Washtenaw County trial Court has relied on an outdated case management system. In fact it's a system that, since 2005, has lacked support from any existing software firm.
As WEMU's Andrew Cluley reports, a new system has been identified, but debate continues on how to pay for upgrade among the members of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners.
Washtenaw County officials are considering a $2.3 million investment in a new case management system for the county's Trial Court. The new system would replace one that hasn't had software support since 2005.
For most of that eight year span, the county was in partnership with the state to develop a case management system to be used in courts across Michigan. The failure of getting that system ready for implementation resulted in the county pulling out of the partnership earlier this year. Chair of the County Commissioners Yousef Rabhi says "the trial court can't continue relying on the outdated case management system in place."
In fact, most of the County Commissioners support purchase of a new system, but debate continues on how to best fund the project. The most recent proposal failed to win a passing vote. It would use the $500,000 returned to the county when it pulled out of the state partnership, another $700,000 dollars from the IT fund balance, and nearly $900,000 from capital reserves.
