City-County IT warns 2026 budget is bare minimum, asks council to fund cybersecurity data-tagging tool

The City-County Information Technology (CCIT) representative briefed the finance committee that CCIT’s 2026 budget was reduced by approximately $150,000 but that the cuts leave the operation at a “bare minimum” with little contingency for unforeseen emergencies or software‑licensing increases. The presenter said CCIT supports 14 city locations on fiber, runs a large server footprint and maintains significant cybersecurity and camera/squad-car systems that require ongoing investment.

Key upward pressures cited were a projected 9.5% increase in health-insurance costs, modest increases in WRS contributions, and a county compensation-study result that showed many IT staff were below market; CCIT implemented a 3% increase in 2025 and will need further adjustments in 2026 to align salaries. CCIT said it cut contracting, training and contingency lines but warned license renewals for core virtualization and storage platforms (examples cited: VMware/Broadcom and Nutanix) could produce material price increases in 2026.

CCIT requested that the council consider funding a data-discovery/tagging platform (total project roughly $100,000) to replace a limited Microsoft tool. CCIT proposed the city’s share be about $32,472; the county and North Central Healthcare would be asked to share the remainder. The tool would run a data discovery across city systems, tag sensitive information (PHI, PII, CJIS) and apply controls to reduce the risk of data theft or inadvertent data exposure. CCIT said delaying the purchase leaves the city exposed to higher risk and escalating license costs.

The committee asked CCIT to pursue funding discussions with the county and North Central Healthcare and to come back with a cross-jurisdictional funding plan; CCIT cautioned that if the city does not approve its share, the overall project would not proceed as proposed.