The DeWitt County Animal Shelter is looking to modernize its computer software, but the transition to a new system hit a legal speed bump during last Thursday night’s DeWitt County Board meeting. 

State’s Attorney Dan Markwell stepped in with several warnings before the Board could move forward on a proposed contract with the software provider, ShelterLuv. He cautioned that the contract doesn't look like a standard County agreement.

Many "out-of-the-box" software agreements contain clauses that could leave the County vulnerable if a data breach occurred or if the software failed to perform as promised. Markwell specifically pointed to the lack of "indemnification" for the county—a legal term that essentially means the software company wouldn't be on the hook for costs if their system caused a legal issue for DeWitt County.

Beyond just legal liability, Markwell also pointed to data ownership - noting concerns that once the County starts inputting sensitive records into the ShelterLuv cloud, getting that data back out—or keeping it private—might not be guaranteed under the current terms.

Markwell highlighted a clause regarding third-party access, which could potentially allow the software provider to share or sell anonymized data—something that could conflict with county privacy standards.

In the world of "Software as a Service," many companies take a "take it or leave it" approach to their digital terms of service. Markwell was also skeptical of this because "standard" digital contracts are often non-negotiable for large tech firms, which puts the County in a difficult position.

Several Board members wondered why other Counties had entered into the agreement with ShelterLuv despite the things outlined by Markwell. He offered to reach out to the ShelterLuv legal representatives to negotiate some of the terms.

The Board tabled the vote to allow Markwell to reach out to the ShelterLuv legal representatives to negotiate a revised contract.