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Ouray County commissioners authorize filling IT technician position, citing 24/7 coverage and cybersecurity needs
Summary
The Board unanimously approved moving forward to recruit for an IT technician vacancy, with IT manager Jeff Bachus warning that reducing staff would strain 24/7 support for the sheriff, elections and public meeting AV and could weaken rapid response to cyber incidents.
The Ouray County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on Dec. 17 to approve filling a vacant IT technician position, citing the department’s 24/7 support role for public safety, elections and the county’s audiovisual meeting systems.
Jeff Bachus, the county IT manager, told commissioners the departing primary desktop support technician (Mark) created a gap that would make it difficult to provide continuous coverage for field deputies’ devices, election technology and rapid response to potential cybersecurity incidents. He said the county is currently budgeted for the position and argued that keeping three IT staff is essential to maintain resilience.
“It’s really almost impossible to do that with just two people,” Bachus said, describing the demands of supporting field devices, election infrastructure and live public meetings. He and Mark referenced prior system‑downtime incidents that underscored the value of having additional staff to detect and contain problems quickly.
Legal and staff advice presented to the board noted the item was not a public hearing and could be heard early in the agenda; commissioners said they could bring any unexpected public comment back at a later meeting if needed. Several commissioners characterized the request as an operational necessity and warned that not filling the position could lead to staff burnout and operational risk.
The motion to approve recruitment and filling of the IT vacancy was brought forward and passed on a unanimous roll call. The board cited Resolution 2025‑034 (referenced by staff) in the item materials; the transcript does not include the full text of that resolution.
Next steps: The board approved proceeding with the recruitment process; personnel and hiring details (job posting, candidates, timeline) were not provided in the transcript and were left to administrative staff to implement.
