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Council previews budget and debates hiring in‑house IT versus continuing TechLegion contract
Summary
Staff recommended not hiring a full-time in-house IT person and reported 2025 IT expenditures of about $187,000 (roughly $53,000 for labor); councilmembers pressed for a detailed breakdown and raised park camera coverage and cybersecurity grant opportunities as factors.
City staff presented a general-fund preview and a discussion of IT services at the April 14 Pleasant Grove work session, recommending the council defer hiring a full-time in-house IT position and instead ask staff for a detailed cost comparison with the city’s vendor, TechLegion.
Staff reported the city paid approximately $187,000 to TechLegion in 2025; about $53,000 of that amount covered labor and project work, while the remainder reflected recurring costs such as cloud backup, Adobe and Microsoft licensing, staff said. "Of that $187,000, only $53,000 of that was for service agreement hours and project work," staff said during the presentation.
Council members raised two related concerns: whether the vendor provides proactive services (security upgrades, systems automation and camera deployments) or predominantly reactive help-desk support, and how best to secure Discovery Park and other city properties. Public Works Director Neil told council he has "had nothing but good interaction" with TechLegion and urged caution about disrupting a vendor that supports SCADA, security and other operations.
Some council members pushed to explore incentives for green-space designations and to tie utility-rate policy to conservation classifications; others asked staff to run a clear comparison showing the difference between hiring one in-house employee (an estimated $120,000 with benefits) and continuing with TechLegion’s contract. Staff said it would provide a redlined budget, a breakdown of TechLegion services and a side-by-side cost comparison.
Staff also said TechLegion will begin sending monthly reports detailing hours and work performed. Council and staff noted the city recently met onsite with TechLegion and a camera vendor (Recotta) to demo equipment for Discovery Park, and staff said the state has a cybersecurity grant opportunity that could cover a large share of planned cybersecurity costs.
Next steps: staff will prepare and distribute a detailed breakdown of 2025 IT costs, contrast vendor versus in-house scenarios, and invite TechLegion representatives to meet with department directors to clarify capabilities and gaps before council takes further budget action.
