Finance committee recommends emergency authorization for three-year cybersecurity contract with GovConnections Inc.

Todd Seivert, chairman of the finance committee, said the panel unanimously recommended that the city council authorize the director of public service and safety to sign a three-year agreement with GovConnections Inc. for cybersecurity hardware, software and maintenance support at a cost not to exceed $100,000 per agreement year and asked that council consider emergency legislation to secure current pricing.

An IT staff member described the contract as an upgrade to the city’s network protections. “This is our cybersecurity for our, our network, our, equipment that's connected to the network,” the staff member said, adding the renewal would include endpoint protection and an 8% increase in year one with no increase in years two and three. The staff member said the final price may vary with the number of devices monitored and that the endpoint protection is a significant addition recommended by IT and the city’s insurance provider.

Committee members clarified timing and scope. The staff member said the agreement runs from October to October for three years and that the vendor is incentivizing earlier signings because they are rolling the endpoint protections out as other contracts expire. The staff member also said cell phones would not have software installed on them but that devices connecting through the city firewall (for example via the city VPN) would be covered: “So if they are in the house and happen to be using their Internet on their phone, that connection would go through the firewall and be protected.”

Councilmember Patrick Phillips emphasized the practical risk of phishing and mistakes in email security, citing recent training materials: “And the last 1 we had this last week, it just drove home to me not only the Kettering issue that came up here some months ago, but, how important and how much scrutiny you've got to give your emails. I mean, you've got to look at at the sender and all of the things, and it's 1 little false move without any malintent would just be devastating for us.”

Seivert told the committee the proposal is budgeted in the 2025 budget. A committee motion to move the emergency legislation forward was made and the finance committee issued a unanimous recommendation that the council consider emergency authorization; Seivert summarized, “So we would, have a unanimous recommendation from the finance committee to move forward with emergency legislation.” The committee’s recommendation is advisory; final approval rests with the full council.

The staff member said the contract does not itself provide insurance payments in the event of a successful cyberattack and that municipal insurance includes a cyber component, though coverage levels and deductibles were not specified during the discussion. The staff member said the endpoint protection addition and the timing incentive from the vendor were the principal reasons staff sought emergency legislation to lock in pricing.

The council will next receive the finance committee’s recommendation and the proposed emergency legislation for consideration at a future council meeting.