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IT director recommends firewall and audiovisual upgrades to reduce cyber risk and improve meeting access
Summary
The city’s IT director outlined a multi-year lifecycle plan for network and meeting-room upgrades, including immediate firewall replacement, annual replacement of PCs, UPS refresh, and a commission-chambers audiovisual overhaul to improve security, accessibility and remote participation.
Leavenworth’s information-technology director presented a five-year lifecycle plan prioritizing cybersecurity and meeting-room audio/visual upgrades, highlighting the need to replace firewalls, update end-user devices and refresh chamber technology to improve accessibility for remote participants.
Marvin (IT director) told the commission that firewalls are the city’s first line of defense and are scheduled for end‑of‑life; he recommended a lifecycle replacement in 2026. He said municipal IT must “continuously monitor and secure our perimeter following industry best practices” to reduce the risk of cyberattacks and that older devices and unsupported hardware increase vulnerability.
IT priorities in the 2026 CIP included: firewall replacement (life-cycle upgrade), annual PC/equipment replacement on a four‑year cycle, UPS (uninterruptible power supply) replacements for data-center resilience, and an audiovisual refresh for the commission chambers to improve audio quality, recording reliability and accessibility features (captioning, easier remote participation). Marvin described the current chamber system as an ad‑hoc assembly added over time and said staff want a “reliable and secure” and more intuitive system with accessibility features.
Marvin recommended future lifecycle replacements—routers, edge switches, storage SAN, core switches and Wi‑Fi access points—be included in later CIP years to continue keeping the city’s infrastructure current and supported. Commissioners and staff discussed the importance of improved sound and recording reliability for people attending remotely and the broader goal of digitizing city services.
IT staff said certain items (firewalls and UPS) are security‑critical and time‑sensitive, while chamber upgrades will also improve public participation and the quality of recorded meetings.
