By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Don't worry about Fayette County's computers in the year 2000. Your services and tax bills should continue uninterrupted, said Jay Wright, director of information services for the county.

"We're pretty much finished with everything," said Wright.

There has been much speculation nationally about problems that may occur at the turn of the millennium because most computer systems count years in two-digits. When users start entering the year as 00, computers will count that as the year 1900.

But while some commentators predict gloom and doom because of the economy's almost total dependence on computers, vendors have been quietly rewriting the software, said Wright.

His department recently issued requests for proposals for companies to replace software for the Sheriff's Department records management and for the county's 911 dispatch office, Wright said.

"We should have that all resolved by Dec. 1, 1999 with no problem," he said.

County computer technicians started early getting ready for Y2K, said Wright. "We started in 1990, gradually taking a system at a time and working with it," he said.

Most of the county's software is written in-house, he said, adding, "We've already modified and fixed all of that. It's a matter of setting up four-digit designations for the years instead of two-digit," he said.

Y2K questions may be part of the discussion as technology managers for Fayette's county and city governments get together tomorrow to talk about ways they can save money or improve efficiency by cooperating.

The FUTURE (Fayette Unified Team to Use Resources Effectively) organization, composed of leaders in all the governments, has been discussing broader questions for more than a year. FUTURE's technology committee meets Thursday at 9 a.m. in Peachtree City to narrow that discussion to technology issues. "One thing that's important is to make our computer systems talk to one another," said Wright. "We'll also be talking about what kinds of interconnections of the governments would be useful."

County workers to get free flu shots

Fayette County employees will be getting a shot in the arm... literally.

County commissioners have agreed to offer flu shots free to county workers at the County Administrative Complex.

Commissioner Harold Bost said the plan has multiple benefits.

"It's one of the best investments we can make," he told fellow commissioners. "It cuts down on absenteeism and increases productivity."

Because the shots will be provided at a convenient location, more workers will take advantage of them, Bost said, even though the county workers' health insurance would also provide free flu shots.

The cost of the mass immunization program, $5 a pop, will be less than if each employee used his insurance benefits and went to the doctor's office for a shot, Bost said, and workers can now get the shots without taking as much time off work.

He thanked assistant county manager Chris Cofty for negotiating the $5 price with Georgia Baptist Urgent Care.