The Pike County Commission on Monday approved a bid for software that will make the process of obtaining car tags easier for county residents.

The Pike County Commission suspended the rules allowing the Probate’s Office to accept a bid from Ingenuity Systems for an updated software system. Probate Judge Wes Allen said the software update would help to make the not only the department more efficient, but also the office’s website.

“It’s our tag software that’s going to help us process tags in the probate’s office,” Allen said. “We’re excited about it. It’s web-based software that will allow us to expedite the process of simple and complex actions, anything from renewals to titling to transferring ownership and anything in between.”

The software will also feature a “paperless” option, which will save the department and county more money in the long run, Allen said.

“This software allows for us to have a paperless options, document scanning,” Allen said. “It can create significant yearly savings for Pike County. It also can create an offsite, backed up record of transactions. We’re just going to try to be efficient with things.”

The commission also heard proposals from the county engineering department for the purchase of new excavator.

The commission heard from Russell Oliver, the county engineer, for pricing on a new excavator, which would help with projects throughout the county.

The cost of a new excavator with a blade attachment would cost the commission just under $300,000. A representative was present at the meeting to discuss any issues or questions the commission might have had concerning the excavator.

“You can take the bucket off of them and attach a cutting head,” Oliver said. “It’s a much more durable and viable equipment than what we have now. It’s a versatile piece of equipment that would be used for a number of things. Cost is the reason we haven’t asked for one before, but if they could find the money for it, it would be good for us to have.”

Other business on the agenda for the commission included a request from the Probate’s Office to advertise the availability of a court assistant position two.

The next scheduled Pike County Commission meeting is Monday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. with a workshop preceding the meeting beginning at 5:15 p.m. The Pike County Commission meets on the second floor of the Pike County Health Department.