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MetroHartford Innovation Services reports security resilience, seeks infrastructure upgrades and school data support
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Summary
MHIS reported no major security incidents, detailed recent technology projects including a new open‑data site and PowerSchool work, and requested upgrades to network and telephone infrastructure to support city operations and Hartford Public Schools.
MetroHartford Innovation Services (MHIS) Director Charisse Snipes presented the department’s recommended FY26 budget and recent accomplishments to the council committee, emphasizing security work, school data projects and infrastructure upgrades.
Snipes said MHIS supports the City of Hartford and Hartford Public Schools and reported it completed or advanced a range of projects in 2025, including migration work for early childhood data in PowerSchool with the Department of Families, Children and Youth, deployment of a new open‑data site that replaced a paid Socrata service (saving an estimated $78,000), and wireless upgrades for schools through the federal E‑rate program.
“Security is an ongoing task for us because it just never stops,” Snipes said, and noted that the department’s layered security approach, combined with user training and multifactor authentication enforcement, meant there had been no security incidents that resulted in downtime. Snipes credited the department’s staffing and processes for preventing service interruptions.
MHIS reported operational metrics: it configured and deployed approximately 3,000 student devices for schools, and from July 4, 2024, to the presentation date the help desk recorded about 3,838 city tickets and 9,364 school tickets. The department said it is upgrading its data‑center environment for performance, redundancy and scalability and working to replace aging telephony infrastructure.
Snipes described MHIS staffing at about 41 positions with five current vacancies and said the department is recruiting for security and other technical roles. She presented staff composition figures: roughly 8% of MHIS staff live in Hartford; demographic breakdowns were given for race and gender.
Councilmembers asked about staff retention and local hiring. Snipes said MHIS has historically retained many employees for long tenures and described existing partnerships with the Hartford Public Library and other programs that place certified youth interns with MHIS. The director said she is exploring stronger pipelines for local residents and for more diverse recruitment in IT roles.
Other MHIS highlights Snipes listed included: development of a 3‑1‑1 mobile app, automation of grants and risk reports, camera deployments for schools that enabled free streaming of sporting events, migration of some municipal websites onto the city site, and installation of private fiber at select recreation sites to improve bandwidth for rec centers and police substations.
Why it matters: MHIS provides infrastructure and security that underpin many municipal services, including schools, 3‑1‑1 service delivery and public safety communications. Planned upgrades to network and telephone systems and continued security work will affect the city’s ability to deliver services without disruption.
Next steps: MHIS is recruiting to fill vacancies, will continue cloud and data‑center upgrades, and plans to submit grant applications and pursue vendor negotiations to manage rising maintenance costs and vendor service increases. Council members requested a breakdown of MHIS spending that distinguishes city and Hartford Public Schools funding; Snipes agreed to provide those figures.
