Cochise County IT presents FY25–26 budget; supervisors press on licensing, cybersecurity and overlapping charges

Alan Gordon, interim IT director for Cochise County, presented the IT department's FY25'—26 budget request at a Board of Supervisors work session, saying the team "supports more than 25 departments and elected offices, managing over 2,000 computers, mobile devices, radios" and maintains "30 communication tower sites" used for public safety and emergency response.

Gordon told the board the department is asking to continue investments that maintain stability and replace aging equipment while protecting county services from cybersecurity risks. "We've extended the life of our equipment beyond industry standards, prepared devices in house to avoid costly outside service contracts," Gordon said, and noted inflation, global supply-chain pressures and higher manufacturing costs have raised prices for hardware and software licensing.

Why it matters: supervisors pressed for clearer accounting of who pays for what technology and how overlapping purchases are tracked. The work session focused on software licensing costs (Office 365 and specialized software such as Adobe), cloud services (Azure), a Darktrace cybersecurity monitoring renewal listed in the budget, and…