Leesburg IT staff presented a budget request to the commission that would fund a network overhaul, add cybersecurity capacity and expand software and GIS tools.

The department told the commission it is pursuing a software‑defined wide area network (SD‑WAN) as an alternative to aging dark fiber, an ongoing managed service for that network, and new circuits for multiple sites. The presenter said the licensing costs for part of the project are "just shy of $90,000," and that the town is also looking at an overall SD‑WAN estimate of about $123,410 (figures given in the meeting). He said the circuits are currently estimated at about $19,160 and will be a recurring cost.

Why it matters: network redundancy and segmentation affect public‑safety and utilities operations, and several of the requested items are tied to compliance and records obligations. The department emphasized cybersecurity and business continuity as primary drivers for the requests.

IT accomplishments and risk profile

Presenter Lehi, speaking for the department, summarized recent accomplishments including incident response coordination around a CrowdStrike alert that "wasn't a cyber attack," a hardware e‑cycling program, preparations for town‑hall audio/video upgrades, and deployment of a help‑desk system that now supports contract and asset tracking. Lehi said those capabilities improve audit readiness and help with change‑management governance.

The department identified several risks and gaps: switching equipment approaching end of life, a lack of a dedicated security administrator, one‑deep staffing in key technical roles, and no separate test environment for the town's ESRI GIS deployment. To address personnel risk, the presentation said the town is planning a business case for a dedicated security administrator in FY2027 but is exploring whether a part‑time to full‑time shift can be covered in the current budget cycle.

Major requested enhancements

- SD‑WAN, management and circuits: The department favors SD‑WAN (vendor work referenced to Red River and Meraki) to reduce dependency on dark fiber, increase redundancy between sites and enable tighter application segmentation by role. Cost figures presented included an SD‑WAN project estimate of about $123,410, licensing quoted as "just shy of $90,000," and circuits at roughly $19,160; management/service fees were also described as a recurring expense.

- Dedicated security administrator (staffing): The presenter described a need for a security‑focused staff member to oversee adherence to policy, vendor security practices and enterprise administration. The full‑time equivalent (FTE) request discussed for one position was approximately $31,000.

- Laserfiche licensing: Based on expanded use across departments, the department proposed a site‑wide Laserfiche licensing approach (the presenter said site licenses start at 500 users) rather than paying per user.

- Low‑code development platform: To reduce custom code risk and improve maintainability, the department proposed a low‑code environment estimated at about $20,000 to support lightweight, maintainable custom workflows and integrations.

- GIS test environment: The request includes funding to establish a GIS test environment (work proposed with RockTech) so public‑works and utilities teams can test changes outside production.

- GIS intern: The department requested funding for a paid GIS intern to assist a single GIS staff member who currently supports multiple departments.

- Social‑media archiving: The department said it began absorbing the cost of a social‑media archiving service used by the PIO and the clerk to satisfy Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and record‑retention obligations. The presenter said the service is necessary to produce posts if they are challenged in FOIA or legal settings.

Inventory and software posture

An external inventory audit previously conducted focused primarily on hardware assets; the department said it still needs an enterprise‑level inventory and a department‑led process to assign criticality to systems, work that will feed incident response playbooks and vendor contact chains.

Budget process and next steps

Staff said the department submitted materials to the town manager and that the town manager (Tom Andrew) will use department input to assemble the budget presented to council in February. The presenter asked the commission for input on priorities and said further closed‑session briefings could be scheduled only if necessary to protect security details.

Quotes

"It wasn't a cyber attack," Lehi said, describing the incident response where staff and partners restored operations and clarified the nature of the event.

"So there, we're looking at just shy of $90,000 for that piece of it," Lehi said when describing licensing costs tied to the SD‑WAN project.

Ending

The commission heard questions from members about staffing implications for other departments, the mechanics of SD‑WAN versus dark fiber, whether GIS supports stormwater and drinking‑water mapping, and how time and ticketing will be used to measure project ROI. Staff said detailed cost breakdowns and more complete procurement information will be provided during the formal budget process.