County enters brave New World

Six years after purchasing a $331,600 accounting software from Michigan-based New World Systems, Whitman County put it into action Monday morning.

“This has gone incredibly smooth compared to some of my past conversions,” said Chris Nelson, director of the county’s information technology department.

County IT staffers Esther Wilson, left, and Chris Nelson work Monday at “New World Central,” a post inside the county commissioners’ conference room.

Efforts to bring the software into use were stepped up last spring, when county commissioners, dissatisfied with the lack of progress in bringing New World online, put Nelson in charge.

Commissioner Pat O’Neill said putting New World into use became his top priority shortly after taking office.

“When I came on board - now some two years ago - whenever I would mention New World to anyone in the county - anyone - they would say ‘It’s not gonna happen in my lifetime,’” he said. “Well guess what, about two years later, it’s here. It’s happening. It happened - yesterday. We’ve done it.”

O’Neill said the decision to put Nelson in charge of the stalled New World conversion was made to give a fresh set of eyes to the process.

Nelson credited county staff for putting in efforts to make the switch smooth.

“We couldn’t have done this without everybody working their tails off,” she said. “To basically accomplish this in less than a year - it’s kind of amazing.”

Whitman County paid almost $400,000 for software updates, technical advice and hardware upgrades to accommodate the New World system since its initial purchase in 2005.

For county workers who log spending and revenue in various departments, the New World system should make things easier.

“It’s been a very, very positive change,” said Esther Wilson, county systems administrator.

Commissioner Michael Largent said the “intuitive” design of the New World software should make it easier for county employees to use.

Commissioners credited county staff for putting out a dedicated effort in flipping the New World switch to “on.”

“A lot of staff spent long hours over the weekend making sure it was ready to go,” Commissioner Greg Partch said Monday.

Employees spent the past couple weeks in intensive training seminars, but Nelson said its usefulness will be apparent now that it is in everyday use.

“This is where you really have the change,” said Nelson. “When you get into the daily routine of ringing phones and customers at the counter, that’s when you really get to see how well it’s going to work.”

To ease that, a pair of New World trainers will be in the courthouse all week.

The current system, which was purchased in 1984, has been blamed for errors that were cited in a number of poor reports from state auditors.

New World does not allow accounts to be booked out of balance. It also gives department heads instant updates of how spending items affect their budget bottom lines.