Former county network technician urges commissioners to address understaffed IT, outdated courthouse systems

A former St. Clair County network technician told the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 20 that county technology services are understaffed and that several courthouse systems and IT projects need review.

Blaine Wilson, identified in the meeting as a former county network technician, told commissioners he reviewed the DuePoint IT consultants report (November 2024) and agreed with its finding that the IT department is understaffed. He said the county employs more than 800 staff but that, in his experience, only six technicians were actively handling daily tickets out of a staff of 11 or 12.

"Many at the courthouse were disappointed by the failed journal project. I'm curious how much was spent on that project, and if there is a replacement project," Wilson said. He asked whether recommendations in the DuePoint report had been implemented and urged better communication from the IT department.

Wilson described practical problems he observed: the district court still uses an AS/400 system and court staff sometimes lack private access via courthouse layouts; he suggested the circuit court's system might be a preferable model. He criticized the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment, saying most county staff work from thin clients or Chromebooks and find the setup unsatisfactory.

Why it matters: Wilson framed these issues as affecting daily county operations for courts, prosecutors, public defenders and general county staff and as potentially increasing costs or reducing service quality if not addressed.

Transcript detail and follow-up requested

Wilson referenced specific pages of the DuePoint report during his remarks: page 37 on understaffing, page 26 on limited technical training, and page 13 on low end-user satisfaction. He said he had previously raised allegations in November and December 2023 about "wasteful IT practices, policies" and favoritism in the department and asked whether those allegations had been investigated.

County leadership did not detail immediate next steps during the meeting. The board's agenda later introduced Tom Hull as the new deputy county administrator/controller; no public-action response to Wilson's requests was recorded on the transcript.

Ending

Wilson concluded his public comment without recorded board direction. Commissioners moved on to the consent agenda and subsequent action items.