Adams County commissioners on Tuesday discussed adding a labor-and-mileage charge to existing interlocal agreements that let towns and certain agencies use county IT services. Commissioners and staff said the county would prorate IT labor costs by the number of users each entity places on the network and said the change likely could not be implemented until the 2027 budget year because municipalities are already preparing 2026 budgets.

The issue arose after conversations with several municipalities, fire departments and the city of Decatur about how to account for county IT staff time. Commissioner Tony raised the matter and said county IT manager Mike and two other technicians — Bob and Ethan — had their combined wages proposed to be divided by total users to arrive at a per-user labor charge. "If they have 15 users, we took the wages of Bob, Mike, and Ethan, total wage divided by 15 users. That was the amount we came up with for their payment for labor," Tony said.

Why it matters: partner towns currently pay for equipment and fiber under interlocal agreements but not for county staff time spent supporting their systems. County leaders said adding a labor charge would make costs transparent, avoid tracking hourly time per site, and create a predictable budget line for partners.

What was proposed: County staff suggested (1) allocate fringe benefits for the IT staff across total users, (2) bill each entity for its number of users, and (3) continue charging units separately for equipment plus a modest mileage fee. Commissioners said that baseline method would be easy for partner entities to understand and that they would gather total user counts from each municipality before finalizing numbers.

Open questions and next steps: Shannon and other staff will compile user counts and scope. Commissioner Tony said he will contact Travelers, the county's cyber insurer, to determine whether a ransomware or cyber claim arising from an outside user on the county network would be covered. "If somebody is found to have come in with ransomware through one of the outside users, is Travelers going to cover that? Or are they going to say, we're covering county, we're not covering them?" he asked. County leaders said they have not yet received a clear answer from the insurer and will pursue clarification before finalizing any interlocal amendment.

Timeline: Commissioners noted that many partner governments submit 2026 budgets now; the county may therefore collect user data and develop the amended interlocal agreement in 2026 for implementation in 2027. They also discussed whether a commissioner and a council member should attend meetings with each entity when the county presents the proposed changes.

No formal ordinance or vote was taken Tuesday. Staff were directed to (1) gather user-count data from partner entities, (2) contact Travelers for cyber-insurance coverage guidance, and (3) prepare an updated interlocal agreement for review with input from county legal staff.