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County IT director seeks additional staff and outlines upgrades ahead of new courthouse
Summary
IT Director Jake Oakland briefed the commission on server upgrades, security improvements and a planned phone-system and storage upgrade, and requested an additional full‑time IT hire to support county growth and a new courthouse network design.
Lincoln County IT Director Jake Oakland told commissioners March 4 that the county has upgraded critical servers, improved security systems and plans phone‑system and storage upgrades in 2025, and asked for an additional full‑time IT position to support expanding needs tied to a new courthouse.
Oakland said the IT department supports roughly 200 users, about 550 devices and public services that reach tens of thousands of residents. "Our goal is to create an IT infrastructure that is up 24/7, 365," he said, noting the department also supports the county's 911 center.
Accomplishments cited for 2024 included upgraded production servers, network performance improvements, enhanced security cameras and panic systems in county facilities, and a security audit conducted with Dakota State University that resulted in minor corrections. Oakland said the county began the .gov website migration in 2025 and planned a phone‑system upgrade within months.
For summer 2025 Oakland said the IT department plans to upgrade storage and data systems, including disaster‑recovery planning, and to design network connectivity for the new courthouse so county offices can be interconnected and resilient to outages. He emphasized the county's growing storage needs and said a prior storage plan was modified because projected costs rose as data demands increased.
Oakland requested the commission approve adding one full‑time IT staffer in the 2026 budget to handle daily support and manage expanding infrastructure. He said the addition is necessary because "the IT department is in every department" and the county has reached a point where another full‑time technician is needed to maintain service levels.
Commissioners acknowledged the presentation and asked procedural questions; no substantive policy action was taken at the meeting. Oakland said additional funding may be required for future cybersecurity measures and that the county should expect larger budget effects in 2027 or 2028 associated with the new courthouse expansion.
Oakland concluded by thanking departments and the commission for prior support and said IT will continue to prioritize security, redundancy and operational efficiency.
