Penobscot County IT staff presented commissioners with updated equipment quotes and a five‑year server lease proposal during the Jan. 14 meeting, warning that hardware prices have been increasing rapidly and that a Dell quote for desktop replacements was valid only through Jan. 19.

IT (presented by staff identified in the record as "Mister Kenny") told commissioners that an earlier Dell quote was just under $17,100 and had increased to roughly $18,000 within a week; staff also presented a five‑year lease proposal for three servers (lease figures shown in the packet, with a total lease line item cited around $39,099). IT staff said current software maintenance spending is about $40,000 per year and proposed reallocating software maintenance funds to a server lease to buy new hardware over five years.

Commission action: A commissioner moved to waive the county’s bid process for this IT procurement; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously with commissioners responding "aye." The transcript shows a follow‑up motion to approve the quoted cost while delaying execution of the purchase; commissioners asked staff to consult with the finance director and the incoming county administrator before the county executes any purchase. The transcript does not record a roll‑call vote authorizing immediate expenditure.

Why it matters: IT replacement and server investments affect county operations and budgets; IT staff argued that waiting could further increase costs, but commissioners balanced that concern with short‑term cash‑flow and budgetary review by finance staff.

Quote: "It is valid until the nineteenth," IT staff said of the Dell quote, adding that hardware pricing "can't be guaranteed past the nineteenth anymore" because of market volatility.

What’s next: Commissioners approved waiving the bid process and directed IT to coordinate timing and final purchase decisions with the finance director and the incoming administrator. No immediate purchase was recorded in the transcript.