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Board directs CAO to issue RFI after independent IT assessment; will return with recommendations
Summary
After an independent assessment of county IT services, the board directed the CAO to issue a request for information (RFI) to explore sourcing options and return with recommendations in March 2026. The assessment found the county within peer norms on many measures and identified networking and outsourcing‑mix as areas for review.
The Board of Supervisors directed the Chief Administrative Office to conduct a request for information (RFI) to gather vendor information and options for the county’s enterprise IT contract following an independent assessment by Avison. The board asked staff to return in March 2026 with RFI results and next‑step recommendations.
What the assessment said: Staff summarized Avison’s review, which compared county solutions, lifecycle management, pricing/value and contract terms to peer groups. The firm found the county generally within peer ranges for overall IT spend and many service categories, strong device lifecycle management, and high employee satisfaction (Gartner survey score 4.4/5). Avison identified the network framework and the county’s high outsourcing percentage (reported as ~78% of IT budget) as potential areas for further analysis and savings; it described the existing contract as “high performing but rigid.”
Board direction: The board directed the CAO to issue an RFI as the next procurement step to understand vendor capabilities and potential sourcing strategies (including multi‑sourcing for applications and network services) and to return in March 2026 with findings and recommended next steps. The motion passed unanimously.
Public comment and concerns: Ten speakers commented. Some praised the assessment and urged a full audit and operational risk review (assessor‑recorder’s office raised concerns about legacy mainframe/as‑400 hardware). Others opposed further IT spending or raised privacy and AI governance concerns. Supervisors asked staff to include department‑level feedback, environmental/sustainability factors and vendor accountability measures in the RFI process.
Next steps: CAO staff will draft the RFI, incorporate stakeholder input from departments, include performance metrics and sustainability considerations where feasible, and return to the board with RFI responses and procurement recommendations in March 2026.
