Commissioners OK part of website mapping cost

Wahkiakum County commissioners authorized a partial expenditure of funds to enable department heads to upgrade and expand information available over the Internet.

The $7,000 expenditure is part of a project that is installing new computer software for the offices of the county treasurer and assessor. Part of the project will make land records available on the county's website.

Officials had intended to have maps available, too, but because of uncertainty over funding for that portion, Commissioners Blair Brady, Dan Cothren and Lisa Marsyla decided to wait till funding sources are secured.

The project was budgeted for $190,299 this year, but in implementing the mapping portion, officials and consultants from True Automation, the county's information technology services provider, discovered the county didn't have certain software licenses. Purchasing the extra licenses for the mapping service will boost the project cost to around $220,000, officials said.

Assessor Sulema Zerr urged commissioners to approve the extra expenditure. Officials from the state Department of Revenue have assured her that the funds will be available later this year, she said.

However, the county would have to expend the funds and apply for a reimbursement, and without a set source of reimbursement, the commissioners balked at making the expenditure.

"Let's hold off and get our numbers figured out," Marsyla said. "Let's work on this and see how much money is coming in. We'll look at it in 30 days. We just need to somehow see that the money is coming from somewhere."