Commissioners talk about IT

As the demands of information technology increase for Carbon County, IT Director Matt Webster is finding himself in need of more help.

Currently, the County IT Department consists of Webster and IT Specialist Rick Cox. At the February 2 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), Webster informed the board of his need for another employee.

“I’ve been reluctant to bring this up because of a couple different reasons, mostly the cost, but I think it’s something that’s critical to our continued operations. Something that we really need to have in place for the protection of the county,” said Webster. “What I’m proposing is an IT security specialist to help project us against malware, ransomware, hacking, etc. and would also take over some things that the IT department really hasn’t been able to become fully involved in such as our security cameras.”

The request from Webster comes as Carbon County continues to move forward with renovations to the Carbon Building and the Carbon County Courthouse. At the same time, Emergency Manager Lenny Layman is establishing the Carbon County Coordination Center, albeit temporarily, at Carbon County Road & Bridge.

While the commissioners stated that they understood the need for an additional IT employee, the board also informed Webster that budget constraints made it unlikely that an employee could be added in the current fiscal year.

“I understand what you’re asking for Matt and I don’t want to dismiss it but, with our income coming to the county still uncertain-we won’t have those numbers for a couple more months-I would like to table your request, personally, until we get a little closer and start knowing what those budget numbers are going to be and how we would balance it out,” said Commissioner John Espy. “That’s my concern.”

Commissioner Byron Barkhurst asked if it was possible that the current needs of the IT department could be met by a contractor rather than an employee and if there was enough of a workload for a full-time IT employee. Webster stated that there was enough workload for a full-time employee and added that the county had contracted with security specialists in the past, but they weren’t focused entirely on the county’s security.

“On the surface, I am in support of the help for that position because I feel like, as the world continues to spin in the direction that it’s spinning, that it’s an important and integral part of internet security and we have a huge infrastructure we’ve got to take care of,” said Barkhurst. “But I agree with Commissioner Espy that everytime we get a report from Patty that our oil and gas valuations are down, I just cringe.”

Webster informed the BOCCC that he believed an additional employee in the IT department was an urgent need, especially as the county moved forward with their renovation projects.

“The more hands we have, the better off we’re going to be,” Webster said.

While Webster was adamant that another full-time IT employee was needed, the board seemed to lean more toward working with contractors to provide the same service.

“We’re way down, our oil and gas estimates are down $700,000 right now. It’s just going to be a real scary time this next budget,” said Commissioner Sue Jones. “I get the need, I totally do. We’re putting in a lot of stuff and these new building workovers are going to have … a huge part of it’s security; cameras and door locks and everything imaginable. We definitely have to go there but I think we need to slowly figure out how to go there that makes (the) most sense economically for us.”

Chairman John Johnson told Webster that while he understood that there was an urgent need for a full-time IT employee, he was more concerned about making the position sustainable and stated he wanted to table the request until the BOCCC set their budget for Fiscal Year 2021/2022. 

“I know you’re busy, I know there’s a need, but I think it needs it to be well thought out and sustainable,” said Johnson.

While the BOCCC did not approve a full-time IT position, they did request that Webster provide proposals for contracted services closer to the new fiscal year.

“While it’s (the timing) bad, it’s good, because now we’ve got our eyes open going into our budgeting process and it’s not something that will sneak up on us at that time,” Espy said.

The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. on February 16 at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins.