Will County is set to launch its new public meeting agenda and records software, Granicus “OneMeeting,” in August, but the transition will see over a decade of historical records converted into a less-than-ideal format, officials said Tuesday.

County Board Chief of Staff Chuck Pelkie informed the Capital Improvements & IT Committee that while the new system will go live for the August meeting cycle, past agendas and minutes dating back to 2014 will be accessible only as searchable PDF documents, rather than being fully integrated into the new software.

The issue arose when Board Member Judy Ogalla questioned the conversion process.

“I’m hearing that they’re going with this PDF form, which is what we didn’t want,” Ogalla said, recalling earlier discussions where the board had requested a full data conversion into the new system.

Pelkie acknowledged the situation was a compromise. The original contract with Granicus did not include data conversion, which would have left all historical records inaccessible after the old system, MinuteTraq, is phased out. He credited former County Clerk staff with negotiating a low-cost, $5,000 deal to perform the PDF conversion.

“I think that in some respects, the software that was selected is maybe a little less flexible, a little less… capable, I think, than MinuteTraq actually would have,” Pelkie said, expressing frustration with the transition. He asked for the board’s patience as staff works through the launch. “You don’t really know what you’ve got until you actually start using it. We’re going to find out next month.”

The Granicus launch is part of a broader IT modernization effort across the county. Jason Donisch, the county’s ICT Director, also updated the committee on several other initiatives:

• New HR/Payroll System: The county is implementing a new system called Day Force, which will manage the entire employee lifecycle. The system is currently in the testing phase, with a full go-live target between January and April 2026.

• Website Revamp: The bidding process for a complete overhaul of the county’s website is underway, with a vendor expected to be selected by the end of July. The target launch for the new site is October 2026.

• Cybersecurity: The county is rolling out multi-factor authentication for all users to comply with cybersecurity insurance requirements, a move underscored by a recent ransomware attack on neighboring DuPage County’s court and sheriff systems.