Rawlins County approves switch from Google to Microsoft email, hires Reach for migration and firewall work

Commissioner Lincoln Pochop, chairman of the Rawlins County Board of Commissioners, said the board voted to consolidate the county’s multiple email domains and move mailboxes into Microsoft Outlook to simplify management and reduce costs.

Matt Wilson, a Reach representative, told the board that consolidating Gmail, ruraltel.net, rawlinsso.org and rawlinscounty.org into a single Microsoft tenant “should save the county around $600.00.” Wilson also advised that Reach could manage the county firewall for the current monthly price of $199 and would add needed network switches and additional Wi‑Fi access points for the first and second floors when the existing contract expires.

Commissioner Pochop moved to switch the county from Google to Microsoft and to pay Reach a $1,275 processing fee; Commissioner Alan A. Solko seconded and the motion carried. The board said departmental budgets will be responsible for ongoing Microsoft licensing costs and asked Reach to itemize fees per department on future bills.

Wilson said Reach would wait to implement expanded firewall and networking work until the Nex‑Tech contract expires and would coordinate timing with county staff. The board also authorized cancelling an unused line to a radio tower after Wilson reported that Sheriff Catlyn Wahrman and VLS Communication had confirmed the line was no longer in use.

The server‑rack relocation from the second to the first floor, completed by IOT staff, was noted as finished; the board approved a pre‑paid warrant for the remaining $6,500 to IOT after Alicia Baumfalk reported minimal downtime during the move.

The board’s vote authorizes the migration and payment of the vendor processing fee; departments will see their Microsoft licensing costs charged to their individual funds.