County board gives verbal OK for $40,064 server build and discusses email encryption and courtroom AV upgrades

Codington County commissioners discussed two technology items in new business: replacement servers for county systems and encrypted email for an office, and they heard that state judicial partners have proposed upgrades to the small courtroom’s audio-visual system.

The county administrator said she had budgeted $40,000 for new servers and that a vendor quote returned at $40,064.96. She asked for a verbal OK to sign the quote so the vendor can begin building the servers and to avoid further price increases; she said she would place the purchase on the agenda for formal approval next week. Commissioners agreed to let staff proceed with building the servers and bring final approval to the next meeting.

The administrator also reported that an encrypted-email solution (Microsoft 365 Business Premium) is approximately $260 per user annually and said she planned to move her office to that service because her office transmits sensitive personal information (Social Security numbers, birth dates). She said she would discuss broader department adoption with other department heads.

Separately, county staff reported that the Unified Judicial System approached the county about updating the small courtroom’s AV system. Staff said there is money in the judicial budget for the work and that the state or circuit-level entities typically reimburse toward AV projects (an amount around $10,000 was discussed as typical). The item will be placed on next week’s agenda for further discussion and potential approval.