Committee unanimously recommends Barnstable County IT budget after discussion of regional services, AI and cybersecurity

At a virtual meeting, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates' Standing Committee on Telecommunications and Energy voted unanimously to favorably recommend the proposed fiscal year 2026 information technology budget to the finance committee after a presentation from Billy Travis, director of information technology.

The recommendation came after Travis outlined an upcoming regional services assessment to define the structure and rate model for the county's long‑running regional IT services, plans to pilot outsourcing of tier‑1 help‑desk support to managed service providers, investments in cybersecurity and AI licensing, and ongoing efforts to consolidate cloud services and licensing to reduce costs. Delegate Harbor moved to favorably recommend the budget; Vice Chair Green seconded. A roll call showed all members voting yes and the motion passed unanimously.

The committee heard that the planned regional services assessment will examine whether the regional IT program should remain an internal department or become a separate entity and will review rates, services and the program’s long‑term sustainability. Travis said the county will seek outside help for that study…