Tax office may finally get new server

Grady County commissioners could soon take action to replace a 6-year-old server in the office of Grady County Tax Commissioner Phyllis Gainous. For nearly two years, Commissioner Gainous has reported having trouble with the server.
Grady County Administrator Carlos Tobar told the board of commissioners Tuesday night that he has put out a request for bids to replace the server. According to Tobar, the board will have the bids to review and vote on at its April 7 meeting.
The tax commissioner told The Messenger she obtained quotes in August 2013 for a new server and included the purchase price in her budget request for 2014.
“I was told the county was working on doing something countywide so I was told to wait,” Mrs. Gainous said.
Since July 2013 the tax commissioner’s office has experienced issues with the server hanging up or shutting down on its own.
“This computer has my property tax software on it which is very important. Thankfully, we have made it through 2013 and 2014. Carlos has bid out for a new one, which should be installed in April,” Tax Commissioner Gainous said this week.
This is not the first time the county has been slow to react to reported server issues.
Prior to her resignation, former county accounting manager Connie Blackman complained about issues with the server in the county commission office. According to Ms. Blackman, the server issues were partly attributed to the delay in the reconciliation of county bank accounts and bringing the information in the county’s accounting software up to date.
She told commissioners last year that as early as Feb. 2014 she had reported issues with the server, but commissioners did not approve the purchase of a new one until Oct. 2014.
In addition to the purchase of a new server for the tax commissioner’s office, Tobar reported Tuesday night that the board would also be voting on April 7 for a new server for the Grady County Sheriff’s Office.
“That one will be pricey,” Tobar said Tuesday night.
Last November, the sheriff’s office staff operated for nearly five days without their computers after a virus infected the sheriff’s office server.
In related news Tuesday night, Tobar also reported that he has solicited bids for the county’s implementation of a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system to replace the current county phone system. The administrator said he hopes to have bids to present to the board for a vote on May 5.