Commissioners review rising IT and security costs as software, cameras and license renewals spike

Van Zandt County commissioners on Wednesday examined a series of technology and security requests after county IT staff said software and recurring licenses are driving notable budget increases.

IT staff (presenters noted as Rusty and Scott) told the commissioners much of the department's budget supports tools used across other offices, including the sheriff's office, fire marshal and district attorney. Staff reported that an evidence-management service (referred to in the hearing as Gartify) has climbed from about $12,000 in earlier years to invoices in the $18,000–$21,360 range, with projections higher for future years. Commissioners asked staff to locate the contract and invoice line items to confirm whether charges are usage- or storage-driven.

County IT also proposed additional hardware and services for remote sites: firewalls at road-and-bridge barn locations (budgeted roughly $1,600 each in the presentation), extra cradlepoints for vehicle and remote connectivity, and replacements for patrol laptops (IT estimated five replacements at roughly $2,500 each). Some items are contingent on sheriff vehicle purchases; others reflect a rise in networked devices such as cameras and connected copiers.

County staff noted recurring license costs for license-plate-reader (LPR) software and said renewals will create ongoing expense. Commissioners expressed public-policy concerns about LPR use; one commissioner urged caution, saying the technology raises privacy questions and should be deployed selectively. Staff emphasized LPRs are linked to camera hardware and separate management software that requires annual licensing.

On connectivity, IT staff described Starlink use at radio tower sites and said one Starlink is active with a second recently activated but still being configured. IT staff also described a plan to create VPN tunnels between branch sites and the courthouse so remote copiers, phones and cameras run behind firewalls.

Small equipment requests were explained in detail: ticket printers for the sheriff's office (three requested now, potentially six if vehicles are approved), additional SIM and account costs for cradlepoints, and multi-function copier replacements for smaller branch offices. IT staff asked for time to test devices (one example was testing a cradlepoint in a patrol vehicle) before committing to countywide purchases.

Quote: "I activated the second one already," said Ron, an IT staffer, describing the second Starlink activation and the remaining configuration steps.

The commissioners directed staff to pull contract language and invoices (particularly for the evidence library) and to return with clarified line items before finalizing those budget increases. No formal votes were taken at the hearing; discussions and follow-up requests were recorded for the courthouse's next budget session.

The court will review these IT items again after staff provides contract details and cost bases. Commissioners noted the need to balance operational security and privacy concerns when approving recurring licensing or surveillance purchases.