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Washougal highlights phishing tests, new phone system and upgraded tunnel cameras in 2024 IT report
Summary
City staff reported IT accomplishments in 2024 including a new phone system, higher‑quality tunnel cameras, increased email threats and ongoing CJIS constraints for police data access.
Daniel presented the information technology portion of the 2024 annual report during the April 14 work session and introduced Theo, the city’s IT manager, for technical questions.
IT metrics and upgrades
Daniel reported 552 help‑desk requests in 2024, about a 4.5% increase from 2023, with 87% resolved within one business day. He said city email volumes rose roughly 12.5% and that the IT team is seeing an uptick in virus and spam activity. The department is replacing the email filter with a newer, AI‑enabled solution and expanding multifactor authentication to more staff.
On systems and hardware, Daniel said IT replaced the city phone platform with a 3CX solution that offers desktop and mobile apps. He also credited the IT team with replacing older pedestrian tunnel cameras with higher‑quality network cameras and said the department has deployed a next‑generation antivirus product (spoken of as SentinelOne during the meeting).
Phishing and security
Daniel said the city’s regular phishing tests produced an average “phish‑prone” click rate of about 5.4% (roughly four to five users per month clicking simulated phishing links), a figure he described as indicating additional training is needed. Chief or police staff noted that law‑enforcement access to confidential systems remains restricted by CJIS certification requirements; as 1 speaker summarized, “none of our information can be shared with anybody that isn’t CJIS certified,” which limits who may access certain systems and requires specific technical controls.
Cameras and police access
Council asked whether the city’s IT supports the police department; Daniel and Theo said IT provides services to the police on a limited basis and that CJIS rules govern access and auditing. Council members also asked about camera usage for vandalism response; police staff said the new tunnel cameras had clearer images and had been helpful in investigations but are not routinely monitored except when responding to incidents.
Why it matters: the upgrades and security measures affect city operations across departments and bear on public‑safety investigations as well as resident privacy and data protection.
Next steps
IT priorities for 2025 include finishing network infrastructure upgrades, expanding camera coverage to additional facilities (contingent on power access), broadening multifactor authentication internally, and completing the email filter replacement. Daniel said staff will continue user training to lower phishing response rates and will work with the police department to maintain CJIS compliance.
