The Kentwood City Commission voted July 1 to approve an updated Microsoft licensing and enterprise agreement that will add security features to the city’s Office 365 environment, city staff said.

City information-technology staff told the commission the change will raise costs by about $18,000 per year and includes the ability to block logins from outside the United States and to expand multifactor authentication. “The biggest feature we're going to implement is being able to block people from logging in from outside of the country,” said Mister Anderson, an IT staff member presenting the request.

Commissioner Morgan asked whether the purchase was a long-term solution or a short-term “band‑aid” against evolving threats such as AI-enabled attacks and automation of malicious activity. Anderson said the licensing would address several security gaps, described the city’s behavioral antivirus (CrowdStrike) and said the city is also planning a firewall replacement; he described the city’s current posture as “very secure” while acknowledging threats evolve.

Anderson said the geoblocking can be turned on within a few weeks of receiving licensing from Microsoft, and that an expanded multifactor rollout would be phased and require user education. The commission approved the purchase by voice vote.