County approves $17,000 appropriation request for attorney’s e-filing server

County officials approved an appropriation request to replace the attorney’s office server to support electronic filing of sentencing orders. Polk County attorney Steve Higgins told the meeting his office submitted an appropriation request on July 28 for $17,000 to buy a new server. Higgins said the office now handles electronic filing of sentencing orders each Monday and the current server is slow; one staff member waits about a minute to upload each document, creating inefficiency when multiple cases are processed. Higgins said ACI, the vendor that began providing tech support in December 2023, had recommended a server update at that time. David Blackwell of ACI was present and available to answer technical questions, Higgins said. A motion to approve the appropriation was made and seconded; the motion carried with approval recorded in the meeting transcript. Why it matters: the new server is intended to speed electronic filing (e-filing) of court documents, reducing staff time per case and improving court-administration efficiency. Discussion and next steps: Higgins described operational impacts and the need for replacement; the board approved the appropriation request and Higgins thanked the board and was excused. No additional conditions or vendor-specific contract details were recorded in the transcript. Ending: The meeting moved on to other agenda appropriation items after the server request was approved.