DuPage County committee approves distribution of draft mutual-aid technology agreement

The DuPage County Technology Committee voted May 19 to distribute a draft intergovernmental cooperation agreement establishing a DuPage Mutual Aid Technical Team (DuMAD), a voluntary mutual-aid framework for responding to technology and cybersecurity emergencies among county government units.

The presenter told the committee DuMAD would let an impacted agency activate the group and request technical personnel, equipment or recovery assistance without ceding operational control. The presenter said the agreement emphasizes confidentiality, limits participation to DuPage County governmental units and carries no participation fee. "If they have an emergency, an issue that causes any problems, they have a playbook they can go to to get started," the presenter said.

Committee members and local managers said the arrangement would provide deployable resources beyond what an advisory task force typically offers. An Addison village manager who spoke during the meeting described past incidents when local officials lacked IT resources and praised the proposal: "When this happened, we didn't know what to do. We didn't have people. We didn't have resources," the manager said, thanking county staff for developing the plan.

The presenter acknowledged county staff and municipal partners who helped design the draft, including Craig Dieckman of the Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, cybersecurity engineer Michelle Lamonte and Joe Moranowicz, village manager of Addison. The presenter said the DuPage County State's Attorney reviewed the agreement and provided input.

A member identified as Auditor White asked whether the program would have a separate budget; the presenter said no new appropriation is requested and that time and expenses would be handled under existing emergency processes. The presenter said the mutual-aid model supplies actual people and equipment during incidents rather than just policy advice.

The committee approved a motion to distribute the draft agreement to municipalities and participating agencies so they may review and consider signing on. The motion was made by Member Childress and seconded as recorded; approval was by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the meeting record. The committee did not adopt implementing rules at the meeting; the presenter said future rules of engagement could be developed through the county's IT municipal roundtable.

Next steps: the county will distribute the draft to municipal partners for review and onboarding, and staff will begin outreach and operational onboarding for interested organizations.