County IT chief seeks funding for dark‑fiber links and software centralization as data center moves to Auburn Fire

Tom, the county’s chief information officer, told the legislature the IT budget request for 2026 emphasizes infrastructure and software centralization tied to an anticipated move of the county data center to Auburn Fire because the County Office Building will no longer serve as the hub.

“We’re gonna be moving our data center to Auburn Fire, which is in the works right now,” Tom said, and added the county will need to lease dark‑fiber connections from downtown sites to Auburn Fire. Those upfront costs, he said, will create a higher annual Internet budget in the near term but are intended as a one‑time move: “Once you move it, you're not moving it back.”

Tom listed sites that will be part of the fiber plan, including 63 Genesee Street, Auburn Fire Department, Keuka Community College, assigned counsel, Sterling Nature Center, highway barns and other downtown county sites. He said the project aims to provide redundant connectivity and host 9‑1‑1 infrastructure in a resilient environment. The timeline presented is completion of fiber and the data‑center move in late October or November 2025.

On software, Tom said IT will centralize licenses currently purchased by multiple departments to lower costs and improve consistency. He cited Westlaw and Axon camera contracts as examples of potential consolidated purchasing and said Spillman (the public‑safety CAD/records system) became an unanticipated recurring cost this year; that contract, he said, is already under a multiyear agreement. “Spillman is not negotiable. Right? We need to — we're we've already signed off on a, I believe, a 5 year agreement,” Tom said.

Tom proposed a county‑wide time‑and‑attendance module to replace numerous Excel and paper processes used by departments. He and finance staff said centralizing time and attendance would create efficiencies, improve auditing and could eventually reduce costs.

Tom also described revenue and shared‑service opportunities: current IT reimbursements from departments total about $200,000 annually; Tom proposed a conservative additional $120,000 in shared‑services revenue from municipalities and the city, driven by state mandates for municipal websites and by discussions with the city about expanded support. “This $120,000 is additional on top of that,” he said, adding the figure was intentionally conservative.

Legislators asked whether the fiber move would be permanent (Tom: yes) and whether software purchases would be billed as chargebacks to participating entities (Tom: yes, via chargebacks and MOUs).