NORRISTOWN -- Montgomery County will spend up to $390,000 in contracted personnel costs over the next year to improve the county's information services department and upgrade the county's computer, imaging and document systems.

Under an agreement with StaffMasters USA of Harrisburg, that company will supply three people to oversee the county's computer operations and address operation, equipment and software problems already cited by StaffMasters in its review of the county's computer systems.

The problems and recommendations included in the review, which has not yet been made public because of "personnel concerns," indicate the county needs to "revamp our entire system" and "take drastic action," the county commissioners had reported last month.

Some of these problems, said the commissioners, are 20-year-old computer hardware, no work log books on individual computers, computer systems that are not compatible with one another and no basic overall plan.

Acting on that report, the commissioners last month asked for and received the resignation of Dale E. Pennapacker, a 55-year-old Worcester resident who had held his $85,948-a-year post as information services director since 1992.

Replacing Pennapacker as interim chief informations officer is Steven Becker of StaffMasters. Becker will serve in that capacity for about a year to implement recommendations from StaffMasters. The county then will replace him with a permanent chief informations officer.

Two other StaffMasters employees, one with expertise in records management and another with expertise in networking, also will be brought on board to serve under Becker.

The commissioners emphasized that StaffMasters did not promote the hiring of its employees to implement the review's recommendations.

"It could be argued that they set the table for us to ask their assistance, but that is not what happened," said Commissioner James R. Matthews. "We investigated the opportunities out there and found they came highly recommended by others."

zwire

-- Anonymous, September 16, 2002