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Evansville computer services budget shrinks despite higher software and equipment costs
Summary
City and county share of computer services costs fell overall after savings and contract changes, while specific increases—replacement of a 20-year UPS and a 75% jump in VMware licensing—drive targeted requests.
Vernon Luce, chief information officer for Evansville City, told the joint budget meeting that the combined computer services budget for the city and county shows an overall reduction even as several line items increased.
"The city portion reduced by 9.31% ... the overall for the joint is a reduction of 4.76%," Luce said, citing cost-saving steps including cancelled services and contract renegotiations that produced roughly $202,000 in savings and about $14,000 in savings from two renewed contracts with Astound.
Luce listed several specific pressures on next year’s budget. He recommended replacing the city’s unserviceable uninterruptible power supply, saying the current UPS is about 20 years old, parts are no longer available and three replacement quotes are all "within the $80,000 range." He described the UPS as a "critical piece of infrastructure" and said he eliminated duplicate maintenance lines to reduce overall impact.
He also flagged a 75% increase in virtualization software costs tied to VMware after Broadcom's acquisition. "We have to use VMware as part of our infrastructure," Luce said, and the department negotiated a three-year contract to hold current pricing while exploring alternatives before renewal.
Other notable changes include a new recurring expense for data communications previously covered by a grant (for Wi‑Fi service in the Assayoun Promise Zone) and modest increases in professional services for projects such as phone-system upgrades performed by outside vendors. Luce said some previously leased backup services are now billed directly, producing a small increase under backup/recurring costs.
On insurance, Luce said cyber insurance is difficult for municipalities to secure, but Evansville's policy has fallen from a high of about $130,000 to roughly $100,000 when the city and county split the cost, a reduction he attributed to recent cybersecurity investments.
Luce closed by reiterating that despite unavoidable increases in specific categories, the department has made cuts and negotiated savings that left the overall joint budget lower than the prior year.
