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Greenwood council approves $65,000 IT appropriation for switch replacements; project described as first step in network modernization
Summary
At a special meeting Thursday, April 24, the Greenwood Common Council unanimously approved Ordinance 25-12, adding $65,000 from the general fund for network switch purchases as part of a broader IT infrastructure modernization. Vendor Exos IT briefed the council on outages, legacy hardware, licensing gaps and next steps.
The Greenwood Common Council at a special meeting Thursday, April 24, approved Ordinance 25-12, a supplemental appropriation of $65,000 from the general fund to information-technology budget classifications 429 and 439 to buy network switches and begin core infrastructure work. The ordinance passed by roll call vote, 9-0.
The appropriation funds an initial switch-replacement phase of a wider network modernization effort presented to council by Jeff Raider, director of external affairs for Exos IT. Raider told the council the city’s network hardware is aged, that switch replacements are the “core infrastructure” step needed to reduce outages and data corruption, and that servers and data storage work will follow as part of a parallel, multi-year plan.
Why it matters: Council members had pressed for clarity after recent outages affected billing integrations. City staff and Exos described the switch work as intended to create a consistent environment so applications that must communicate with one another — for example the utility billing system and its payment processor — stop requiring repeated manual interventions after power or network disruptions. Council members asked whether the switch purchases would be a short-term fix or a larger overhaul; Exos and staff said the switches are the most urgent piece but not the only work required.
Presentation and vendor assurances: Raider described Exos as a local-government IT and cybersecurity provider and said the company has been working with Greenwood to stabilize the network and improve cybersecurity posture. Greenwood staff said the city has a master services agreement with Exos and indicated that, under that contract and the city’s remedies, there are legal options if a vendor fails to perform. Staff also cited a state “prompt pay statute” that provides up to 45 days before certain invoices must be paid, which staff said gives the city additional time to verify satisfactory completion before releasing funds.
Operational impacts and risks discussed: Council members asked whether the switch purchases would quickly resolve the city’s immediate problems, and how long deployment would take. Exos said switches must be configured and deployed strategically rather than simply plugged in, that critical locations will be prioritized and that deployments will be done as soon as equipment arrives and can be safely configured. Exos and staff emphasized the work will reduce the frequency and severity of outages but will not be a single, complete fix; additional server and storage work, and longer-term budgeting for refresh cycles, remain necessary.
Other details raised in the meeting: Staff and the vendor said an earlier lapse of licensing affected about 550 mailboxes and that some cybersecurity and licensing tasks fell outside the scope of prior contracts. Exos referenced an IT/cybersecurity assessment performed in May 2023 and said that assessment and later work exposed a lack of standardized processes, documentation, and lifecycle planning. Council members asked about off-site backups and monitoring; staff responded that off-site backups exist and that monitoring tools are in place but that the underlying hardware and design must be modernized to reduce cascading failures.
Vote and next steps: After brief additional questions and no further public comment, the council conducted a roll call vote. The ordinance passed 9-0. Staff and Exos said they will prioritize the most critical switches for immediate deployment and that future server and storage work will be proposed as part of subsequent budget cycles and capital planning.
The meeting also included technical questions from council members about hybrid cloud versus on-premises options; Exos said some applications require on‑premises hardware and that a hybrid model is typical. Staff said they would coordinate with Exos and the finance team on how the city budgets and sequences additional IT capital work moving forward.
