Columbia County auditor warns of tight server fund after denied grant and Microsoft licensing costs

Columbia County Auditor Dennick told the board the county's internal server fund is under pressure after an expected grant was denied and a series of unplanned IT expenses. He said the county must act to preserve email and Office access for staff before licensing deadlines.

Dennick reported the county's server fund had been overdrawn "between probably 4 and $10,000," said a $75,000 grant the county expected was denied, and blamed a state IT delay for missing the grant timeline: "they blew the deadline by 9 weeks" and "couldn't figure out how to make their software work to grade the different grants," he said. He described the result as both a revenue shortfall and a timing problem: Microsoft licensing renewals end Nov. 30 and the county risks losing continuity unless it secures interim payments.

Dennick said he had invoiced roughly $18,783.68 for Microsoft 365 licensing for 2026 and had options to reduce costs, including moving to more basic licenses or licensing by machine. He contrasted that figure with prior budgeting at about $34,000 for 75 licenses and estimated potential savings of roughly $16,000 if the county can secure preferred pricing through its vendor (CDW) and adjust license types.

On the website cost question, commissioners weighed whether CivicPlus hosting should be paid from the server (internal service) fund and apportioned across departments or treated as a current expense. Dennick and other speakers noted the server fund has limited balance (Dennick said "a little over 12,000") and that some line items (for example a $5,010 civic clerk-related charge) are already billed to commissioners.

Dennick recommended short-term workarounds, including paying one month of licensing on a credit card to preserve service while transitioning to annual billing, and longer-term steps such as producing a statement of value on county properties to challenge high valuations with the risk pool. He also said he could shed roughly $6,000 a year by changing internet providers if up-front consulting work is paid.

The board did not adopt a formal funding shift at the meeting. It agreed to consider whether the CivicPlus website should be added to a separate IT assessment for next year or remain a current-expense item; participants cautioned against imposing a late assessment on departments just before the holidays.

The auditor's briefing fed a broader budget discussion that included a proposed 2% COLA and a preliminary estimated budget deficit of about $689,000 if the COLA and certain healthcare contributions are included.