Chief Technology Officer Mike Alvarez and Deputy Director Jordan Petkov told the Select Board on Aug. 6 that the town’s information technology department completed several infrastructure upgrades in fiscal 2025 and is planning further work in FY26–27, including server upgrades, a new phone system, and a permitting‑platform migration.

Why it matters: The IT projects affect town operations, public‑facing services and public‑safety connectivity. Alvarez said upgrades underpin permitting, water and sewer asset management and the recently launched agenda and minutes portal; Petkov highlighted monthly cybersecurity training and external partnerships intended to reduce the risk of phishing and other attacks.

Alvarez said the department completed a network infrastructure enhancement at 2 Fairgrounds Road, moved an IT office to that facility, and launched document‑scanning and Carto/ArcGIS deployments for sewer, water and public‑works inventory. He told the board that missing meeting packets noted after the agenda‑portal transition were now posted and that some large historical packets require reformatting to make archival documents easier to access.

Planned projects: Alvarez listed three near‑term priorities: (1) a virtual‑server infrastructure upgrade scheduled to begin in January, (2) a request for a new town phone system (FY27) to better support hybrid work and public‑safety offices, and (3) evaluation of a move from the EnerGov permitting platform to OpenGov for improved usability.

Cybersecurity and staffing: Petkov said the town runs mandatory monthly cybersecurity campaigns for employees and recently extended a campaign to regulatory board members. He reported strong completion rates—100% completion in several high‑risk departments such as finance and utilities—and said the town continues to collaborate with CISA, the MS‑ISAC and the DHS fusion center. Alvarez and Petkov asked the board to consider future requests from the airport, public safety and schools for infrastructure and staffing investments, including a proposed fiber connection for emergency services and additional public‑safety IT staff.

No formal motions were required for the departmental update. Alvarez invited questions and said the IT department will return with budget requests and an updated enterprise assessment in a future fiscal‑year planning cycle.