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City IT officials warn cuts to ITA staff and licenses would slow help‑desk, 3‑1‑1 and cybersecurity work
Summary
The Information Technology Agency told the budget committee that proposed staff and license cuts would increase 3‑1‑1 wait times, leave critical network and radio systems aging and raise cyber‑risk; staff asked for memoranda on options to preserve critical services and explored financing alternatives for network replacement.
Information Technology Agency executives told the City Council Budget and Finance Committee that proposed cuts to ITA staffing, software licenses and consultant support would undermine service desks, 3‑1‑1 call handling, Workday and cybersecurity protections.
Why it matters: ITA supports core city software and communications used by public‑safety departments and frontline service centers; reductions could lengthen help‑desk ticket backlogs, raise 3‑1‑1 wait times and delay fixes to public‑safety radio and network components that have already failed in past incidents.
What ITA said: Officials described an outstanding ticket backlog (thousands of open tickets), a roughly 33% proposed reduction in call‑center staffing that would reduce 3‑1‑1 weekend and holiday coverage and increase wait times, and capital needs to replace aging network hardware estimated at roughly $42 million to refresh end‑of‑life equipment across municipal buildings. They recommended exploring financing options such as debt financing to spread replacement costs and urged preservation of identity management (Okta) and other security tools to avoid far larger breach and remediation costs.
Council feedback and requests: Councilmembers asked ITA for memoranda detailing: the demographic profile of 3‑1‑1 callers (language, age and access constraints); the operational impacts of a 33% cut to 3‑1‑1 staffing; the costs and trade‑offs of deferring network replacement versus debt financing; and a list of critical vendor licenses and consultants required to maintain public‑safety communications and Workday support.
Ending: ITA will return with requested analyses and cost estimates; committee members signaled interest in exploring financing options and preserving core cybersecurity and call‑center capacity.
