County IT director seeks support for state cybersecurity center; reports on LIDAR mapping and staffing

Grand County IT Director Matt Sonoceros briefed commissioners on technology priorities Aug. 19 and asked the board to consider a letter supporting continued funding for the Utah Cyber Center, a statewide cybersecurity resource for government agencies. The commission approved the letter as part of the consent agenda after the item was discussed.

Sonoceros described department work on core server upgrades, endpoint rotation, procurement of a systems administrator position and a recent LIDAR acquisition covering the Moab Valley that can be used for flood modeling and other planning applications. He said the county’s GIS specialist is now co‑chair of an innovation committee at the Utah Geographic Information Council and that the county is a state pilot for integrating high‑resolution mapping data.

Sonoceros also warned about an increasing number of SaaS and cloud subscriptions and said he will inventory third‑party services to identify underused tools that contribute recurring costs. He said the county will begin a more structured privacy and AI policy effort and cited endpoint protection, phone upgrades and data‑circuit improvements as upcoming projects.

Why it matters: County staff said cybersecurity and data governance are growing responsibilities with legislative and budget implications; Sonoceros said statewide collaboration and access to Utah Cyber Center resources help smaller jurisdictions meet minimum standards.

What’s next: Sonoceros will supply a prioritized list of third‑party subscriptions and renewal dates to administrators for use in budget discussions; the commission approved a letter asking the state to maintain funding for the Utah Cyber Center.