MARSHALL — The Lyon County Attorney’s Office has been using the same computer software for more than 20 years. Updates are needed, but they will come with a cost, Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg said.

Lyon County commissioners approved a proposal for a new software system for the county attorney’s office on Tuesday. Installation costs for the software would be roughly $47,000, plus an annual support service cost of $7,050. The updated software would replace the system the county attorney’s office currently uses to manage case data and documents.

The current software system the attorney’s office uses dates back to the 1990s, Stomberg said. The system hasn’t carried a cost for the county for the past 25 years, but it does have serious drawbacks, he said.

There have been a lot of technological changes in the Lyon County District Court — for example, court documents are filed electronically now. But the software used at the county attorney’s office can’t interface with the court, the Public Defender’s Office, or county and local law enforcement, he said.

Stomberg said County Attorney Rick Maes had brought up the need for software updates more than once in the past.

“He’s had the discussion with me on and off over the years,” Stomberg said. “He’s concerned about it crashing completely.”

The attorney’s office received a price proposal for a new prosecutor software system from Karpel Solutions.

“It’s not inexpensive to install,” Stomberg said. The initial installation cost for the system was $47,400, and there would be an annual operating cost of $7,050. Funding for the installation could come from county reserves, while the annual operating cost would be part of the operating budget for the attorney’s office.

Commissioner Paul Graupmann said he would have liked to see more than one quote for new software.

While the proposed cost of the new software seemed like a lot, it would also be much more efficient for staff at the county attorney’s office, said Commissioner Charlie Sanow.

“Think about how many hours they could have for that (amount),” Sanow said. “That’s the savings part of it.”

Commissioners voted to approve the request for the Karpel Solutions software system.