Teton Countys special meeting on June 30 included an extended discussion of IT capital needs and options to reduce recurring costs.

The County Clerk and IT staff reviewed a proposal to replace or modernize the countys legacy AS/400 system. Two options were discussed in the meeting: a one-time capital outlay of roughly $38,000 for an initial phase (the number discussed as $38,000 in the transcript) or a multiyear lease/lease-to-own approach that would spread costs across three years (the clerk described a three-year lease option as preferable for spreading future recurring costs). Participants noted that a migration to a modern system typically carries implementation and ongoing subscription costs, and that phasing and financing can smooth near-term budget impact.

The clerk proposed postponing scheduled copier replacements in at least one office to save roughly $700–$900 annually in per-page and toner costs; she said the clerks office could run on existing hardware and toner for another year and monitor maintenance needs rather than purchase a new machine immediately. "If we can just get one or two more years out of a copier we save the replacement cost," she said, citing vendor page-rate and toner comparisons.

Security items such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), password managers and a document-management accessibility conversion were also discussed. Several of those items had been budgeted in the initial IT request but were proposed for deferment or nearer-term re-scoping to reduce FY26 pressures. Commissioners suggested IT staff return with a prioritized list of must-have security upgrades and those that could be delivered or piloted using one-time remaining cash.

No final procurement contracts were approved. Commissioners instructed the clerk and IT staff to prepare a revised IT capital plan that: (a) identifies which items can be deferred one year, (b) shows lease-versus-buy costing for systems replacements, and (c) outlines ongoing hosting/subscription costs for any cloud migration.