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Routt County IT and GIS budget includes higher Microsoft costs, election camera archiving and Pictometry request
Summary
IT and GIS staff told commissioners that Microsoft 365 licensing and election‑camera storage needs are increasing costs, and presented a capital request for oblique imagery (formerly Pictometry/EagleView) and server/storage upgrades; the board asked for more interdepartmental planning before deciding on a major assessor software conversion or imagery subscription.
Routt County’s IT and GIS teams presented a 2026 budget that reflects several operational pressures and capital requests: higher Microsoft 365 licensing fees, new requirements for 24‑hour recording of remote ballot drop sites with long archival retention, additional server and storage capacity, and a planned review of the county’s mass‑appraisal software needs.
IT said Microsoft 365 licensing costs are expected to rise sharply; the department plans to offset some maintenance spending by using Defender endpoint protection embedded in M365. The department also described the addition of cameras at remote ballot‑drop locations and said storing continuous recordings (retained for a multi‑month window and archived for up to 25 months) substantially increases cloud storage costs.
GIS staff reviewed current imagery subscriptions, noting near‑term options including state‑provided Vexcel imagery (no cost) and a paid Nearmap subscription (annual access to obliques around Steamboat Springs). For more detailed oblique imagery and automated change detection, the assessor and GIS staffs pressed for a three‑year EagleView (Pictometry) subscription at roughly $75,000 per year, which would provide higher‑resolution obliques and AI‑assisted change detection that can flag new or altered structures for review.
Commissioners and IT asked for a coordinated, multi‑departmental implementation plan before committing to large software conversions or multi‑year imagery contracts. IT flagged a $100,000 consulting budget already in place to scope a possible county‑wide enterprise software replacement, and commissioners indicated they want a funded project manager and an RFP/competitive process rather than an immediate sole‑source procurement.
Next steps: IT/GIS to return with an implementation plan and cross‑department project scope, and commissioners asked staff to convene building/planning/elections/assessor representatives to review all integration and archival requirements before making large capital commitments.
