Knox County splits IT into standalone budget and seeks one new systems administrator

Knox County's information technology functions were presented as a separate department during an October budget workshop, with the new IT director asking commissioners to approve one systems-administrator position and warning that current staffing leaves the county vulnerable to outages.

"If we don't have, functioning communications through our IT, we are down, period," a commissioner said during opening remarks to underscore the operational importance of the service. The IT director outlined several recurring and programmatic costs that will now appear in the IT budget after the split, including increased bandwidth for public-safety sites and a recurring maintenance fee tied to Motorola Flex.

The director said the county has budgeted approximately $20,000 in recurring maintenance for Motorola Flex and has included higher market-priced Google Workspace and internet costs based on contract expiration timing. The IT budget also includes a training line for security certifications and a proposed systems-administrator position that the director said would move the county from reactive maintenance to more proactive cybersecurity and systems management.

Commissioners expressed broad support for adding capacity but noted local labor-market constraints and the higher salaries typical for IT professionals; the director and commissioners said the county will test the market with the proposed salary and revisit if the position does not attract qualified candidates.

The IT reorganization and related staffing request will be considered by the budget committee at the next scheduled meeting on Oct. 31.