FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted Monday to enter into a contract with Systems Engineering in Portland for a cost of $17,000 for information technology services in 2016.

The cost was not included in the current budget so the company delayed payment until July 1, 2016.

According to James Desjardins, IT systems administrator for Franklin County, the company has been working with him to set up services and other parts of the county’s IT system, including email.

Desjardins said they are now working to bring the county’s IMC program, a computer-aided dispatch program and public safety record-keeping system for emergency responders, to Franklin County from Somerset County.

Systems Engineering is willing to work at no charge for the rest of the year, Desjardins said.

The company is a leading IT strategy and managed services provider serving clients nationwide, according to its website. Its services include monitoring and critical care for the county’s system. If there are critical problems, they will be dealt with within one hour. If it’s not a major problem, it would be handled within eight hours.

The $17,000 annual payment will be included in the 2016-17 budget, county Clerk Julie Magoon said.

Commissioner Charles Webster of Farmington asked if the service had gone out to bid. Desjardins said no.

“They helped me put in the system,” he said, and they know the system. You may be able to get the service cheaper, but it’s not going to be better, he said.

He believes Systems Engineering is critical to have for this phase. In-state expertise for the services needed is limited, he said.

Having knowledge of the county systems is important, Magoon said.

“Even though I am OK with this, I would like to bid this out,” Webster said.

Magoon suggested they contact companies to see if and how much it costs to provide the services. She doesn’t believe there are many companies that offer the same services in the area.

Desjardins checked with his former employer and was told they couldn’t offer the same services as Systems Engineering, he said.

The company is constantly monitoring the county system and knows something is wrong before he does, he said. They also have duplicates of what the county has at their location.

Webster suggested they put the service out to bid the next time.

Commissioners agreed to enter into a contractual agreement with Systems Engineering until Dec. 31, 2016, and they would put the service out to bid for the following year.

In addition to the contract, Desjardins informed commissioners that he plans to purchase $5,484 of other items, including a needed software program. That money is in the budget and did not need commissioners’ approval.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net