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IT department outlines upgrades, cybersecurity work and new vehicles; mayor and council praise progress
Summary
The city's IT director gave a broad update on completed projects, cybersecurity initiatives, professional development, and the acquisition of new IT vehicles and branding; council members thanked staff and discussed a possible additional IT position later.
The Forest Park IT department presented a comprehensive update to the mayor and council on Feb. 17 covering staff, completed projects, cybersecurity initiatives and planned work ahead.
Highlights from Director Josh Cox included: - Hardware refresh: the city has completed imaging and deployment of almost 300 computers and instituted a five-year replacement cycle to keep user equipment current. - Infrastructure and systems work: upgrades included a refreshed phone system, new cameras with AI analytics, server and backup improvements, body-camera refresh for police, hosted ERP migration, and Wi-Fi upgrades across city facilities. - Cybersecurity: the city is implementing end-user security training, multifactor authentication (Duo) for VPN access, network detection and monitoring, and a SIM solution; staff plans monthly tech tips and "brigade alongs" where IT sits with departments to understand workflow needs. - Operational improvements: 150 cell phones were refreshed during the past year; the IT department also supported police 911 center updates and mobile command center networking. - Fleet for IT: the city purchased a van and trucks for IT service delivery; IT unveiled a proposed department logo to be used on the vehicles and shirts.
Council response and staffing: Council members applauded the progress; council discussed the IT staffing ratio (the director said the city supports about 82 staff per IT employee) and Cox said the department may request an additional position in the future while continuing to contract specialized services as needed.
Ending: Council praised the IT team and asked staff to return with any formal staffing requests in the budget process; the department will continue cybersecurity training and planned facility data-center work tied to the new city hall.
