Brainerd council directs staff to create single integrated IT department after joint presentation

Brainerd City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct staff to create a single integrated city IT department after a joint presentation by city and Public Utilities IT staff laying out technical, staffing and contractual considerations.

The move follows an 18‑slide briefing from Sean Strong, the city’s IT/GIS director, and Aaron Anderson, BPU IT supervisor, who described separate, specialized networks and long‑lived software packages on both sides and warned that a full technical convergence would be gradual. "We're not gonna combine those together," Strong said, emphasizing that segregated networks and operational‑technology systems require distinct handling.

City Administrator Nick Broyles urged the council to give staff a clear direction to break a months‑long limbo. "I strongly recommend that the city council support the integration of our 2 IT departments into 1 department," Broyles said, and outlined a plan to rewrite a director job description and advertise the position quickly if the council approved integration.

Public Utilities Director Evans said he would carry out the council’s direction but warned that full integration might not save money and could increase complexity because utilities run mission‑critical OT systems. Evans noted the integrated staffing scenario used in staff slides could cost "about $100,000 more a year potentially" in illustrative numbers and stressed the need to avoid downtime on utility systems.

Council members pressed staff on near‑term help for BPU, where Anderson said the IT data analyst position is vacant and BPU currently lacks backup. Anderson told the council BPU is seeking a network administrator and systems administrator in 2025 to provide 24/7 coverage. HR Director Schubert said draft job descriptions created so far assume a BPU‑based hire and that HR needs council direction on reporting lines and duties before finalizing postings.

Several council members said they favored a phased approach that begins with shared, lower‑level help‑desk or business‑office support while the city works out job descriptions, funding splits and union issues. "That is low‑hanging fruit," Councilmember Dolly Matin said, urging an immediate support hire for routine tasks so specialized staff can focus on major projects.

Chairman Gabe Johnson moved to direct staff to create a single integrated city IT department; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll‑call vote. Council asked staff to draft an IT director job description quickly, consider posting additional support roles, and return with a hiring plan and timelines. HR told the council it typically takes about six weeks to advertise and onboard a hire on an accelerated timeline.

The council’s action does not require immediate technical unification of networks or software; staff and the council framed the decision as an administrative and organizational directive to design a single department and hire leadership and support staff that could pursue targeted, phased integration where appropriate.

Next steps: staff will draft the IT director job description and return to council with refined job postings and a recommended hiring timeline. The council and staff emphasized they will preserve necessary OT separations and consult the relevant unions and legal counsel on reporting and classification as positions are finalized.