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Commissioners approve countywide archiving of county‑issued mobile device texts to manage records risk
Summary
Technology Services won board approval to purchase Smarsh archival service for county-issued mobile devices, citing rising public-records requests for text messages and the need for reliable, searchable archives.
Chief Technology Officer Chad Goodhue asked the board to approve Smarsh to archive text messages and other communications on county-issued mobile phones and devices. He said requests for text-message records “has more than quadrupled” over the past year and the county lacks a consistent archiving solution for many devices.
Goodhue said the proposed Smarsh service archives messages as they are sent or received so deleted texts remain available to legal staff and for public‑records requests. He described the monthly cost as about $14 per device and said the alternative — many one‑off utilities tied to single devices — is less reliable and more costly over time. “Rather than try and enforce an unenforceable policy, it makes more sense to me that the board simply says if you own a county issued phone, it will have Smarsh,” Goodhue said.
Commissioners discussed enforcement, privacy and operational issues; Goodhue recommended deploying the service for county‑issued phones and noted some routine exceptions (e.g., flip phones or limited‑function devices). Commissioners voted 3–0 to approve Proposal 2025-23 TSD‑1 authorizing Smarsh for archival purposes on county‑owned mobile devices.
Ending: The board authorized the Technology Services Department to proceed with Smarsh implementation; department staff will work with county offices to ensure deployment and policy compliance.
