County IT director outlines upgrades; council introduces first communications officer

David Shorkey, Chester County’s IT director, updated council on department operations and recent projects and Administrator Hester introduced the county’s first communications officer.

IT update Shorkey said the IT department consists of the director and a network administrator, handles roughly seven to eight service tickets per day with an average completion time of about four hours, and is actively involved in statewide cybersecurity groups including the state and local cybersecurity grant program. Ongoing projects include website development (about 70% complete), deployment of new Toshiba printers, contract reviews and renegotiations (Shorkey reported realizing $80,000 in anticipated savings under a new TrueVista contract), and rollout of Samsara fleet-management analytics. Completed projects highlighted include an upgraded council chamber AV system and brighter TVs, camera upgrades for livestream viewers, and a one-year rollout of Paycor that the county said improved recruitment.

Communications officer Administrator Hester introduced Morgan Shirley (listed in the packet as Morgan McDougall Shirley) as Chester County’s first communications officer. Hester said Shirley is a lifelong Chester native currently residing in Blackstock, has more than 10 years of marketing experience with a recent focus on downtown revitalization, and will lead development of the county’s communications plan. Council welcomed Shirley and said staff will begin work on a communications rollout and public outreach.

Council thanked IT staff for behind-the-scenes cybersecurity and contract work and encouraged continued progress on the website and other projects.