Milwaukee County Information Management Services Division presented its 2026 operating and capital requests to the Committee on Finance, focusing on technology lifecycle replacements, data governance, security and cost optimization.

Jackie Bobo, chief information officer for IMSD, said the division has expanded its business relationship and project management work and described five strategic pillars that align IMSD to county objectives. "Innovation through connection" was presented as IMSDs operating theme.

The nut graf: IMSD leaders outlined a recurring capital request for device and infrastructure lifecycle replacements and a server-room safety and suppression project at the courthouse complex, and emphasized investments in data cataloging, data governance and controlled AI use that rely on improved data quality across departments.

IMSD said it manages about 3,900 network users and more than 5,000 PCs and point-of-sale devices; it also administers hundreds of contracts and supports a wide range of county services from public safety to parks operations. Bobo said IMSD has hired 16 people this year, converted five contractors to employees and promoted staff through programs such as IC STARS.

On security and operations, IMSD said it will pursue more redundancy, stronger identity and access management, and completion of website ADA compliance in April 2026. The division also plans further rollout of Teams voice services to reduce legacy phone-system dependence and to lower operating cost.

Capital requests described to the committee included a courthouse server-room safety and suppression upgrade and a recurring technology lifecycle replacement program that funds periodic replacement of user devices and infrastructure. IMSD and DAS officials said the lifecycle request is a regular, recurring need to avoid large backlogs of end-of-life equipment.

Budget staff said IMSD has reduced vacancy-driven contractor spend and narrowed its vendor cost exposure but warned some enterprise licensing (for example, Microsoft 365 enterprise agreements) are multi-year and subject to negotiation; IMSD said it is pursuing license optimization through resellers.

Why it matters: County leaders said reliable IT infrastructure underpins public-safety systems, financial management, benefits and service delivery across county departments. IMSD officials told supervisors that improvements in data quality and governance are prerequisites to safer, county-controlled adoption of artificial intelligence tools.

Next steps: IMSD will provide more detailed lifecycle-schedule information and cost optimization analyses; it will also continue cross-department data-governance work and report on progress toward ADA-compliance milestones and Microsoft licensing negotiations.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during IMSDs presentation and related questions on technology lifecycle, contracts and security.