County IT urges $50,000 equipment boost as subscriptions and old computers strain service

Scott Swan, identified in the meeting as an IT staffer, told the committee county departments are relying on older machines and recurring subscriptions and recommended increasing the new-equipment budget by $50,000.

Swan said some devices on the county network are more than seven years old and that he’s been transferring funds intended for PC refreshes to cover new subscription costs and added remote sites. "We have computers that are 7 plus years old still on the network that we need to really hit quickly," he said, arguing that aging devices and software subscriptions have forced the IT office to reallocate its planned refresh schedule.

He also described an unexpected need to redesign the county website after a vendor, CoreBT, announced it was going out of business, and said the transition will include ADA compliance work and rehosting. Swan said he will request a $40,000 transfer at the next council meeting to pay subscriptions and that the IT office will prioritize the worst devices for replacement.