IT director outlines server-replacement plan to avoid steep vendor costs

At 10:15 a.m. the board moved to the Information Technology department budget. Saul, who introduced himself as "Saul, IT director," told commissioners that salary and benefit totals remain unsettled while the county finalizes any cost-of-living adjustments, and that several software and service contracts have increased in price.

Saul said Microsoft licensing costs and some internet-service-provider fees rose this year (he named Zipfiber and Montana Sky as examples), which limited his ability to reduce the IT budget. He said he has sought vendor quotes and is pursuing a cost-savings strategy that would avoid paying for a fully assembled vendor server. "So instead of those new server being between 14 and $18,000, I think I can price 1 about 3,500 to $4," Saul told the board, adding that he plans to source parts through CDWG and build much of the system in-house.

The director said the county's current data server has roughly three years of life remaining and he hopes to complete a phased replacement this winter, with work finished by November–December. He also said he is considering a NAS (network-attached storage) solution that would not require Microsoft licensing and could reduce ongoing software expenses, though he acknowledged compatibility and update challenges with some systems.

Commissioners thanked Saul for planning and emphasized the importance of compatibility with other county systems (police and dispatch radios were noted as examples of equipment with limited lifespans). There was no formal action on the IT budget during this review.