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Texas City IT director outlines staffing, cybersecurity priorities as commissioners consider higher investment
Summary
Innovation and Technology Director Kyle Hunter told the commission the four-person IT team has modernized systems, implemented layered cybersecurity and resolved roughly 91% of last year’s tickets within seven months; commissioners said they may consider boosting IT funding in the next budget cycle.
Kyle Hunter, Texas City’s innovation and technology director, presented an overview of the city’s four‑member IT team and called cybersecurity a growing, cross‑cutting priority for operations and public services.
“If we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, I’m Kyle Hunter. I am your innovation and technology director,” Hunter said, and described the department as a director, an IT manager, a public‑safety system administrator and an IT analyst. He told the commission the team has handled a heavy workload since several positions were filled between July 2024 and December 2025.
Hunter said the department now supports functions ranging from online citizen services and library systems to utility billing and emergency‑management systems. He listed recent security steps — multi‑factor authentication, endpoint protection, user training and integration of multiple security platforms to share threat intelligence — and said those tools enable new AI‑driven cybersecurity detection and response capabilities.
“The help desk reached about 91% of last year’s ticket volume in seven months,” Hunter said, framing that as progress amid rising demand as city services digitize. He also described planned initiatives such as secondary internet connections with mobile carriers to maintain operations during outages and the rollout of automations to reduce manual processes.
Commissioners praised the staff’s workload and urged attention to staffing and budget. Commissioner Jason Delgado, who said he has 30 years of IT experience, commended Hunter and suggested the commission examine whether current IT funding is sized correctly compared with similar cities and industries. “Bad guys don’t rest and the attempts to get into our networks are only gonna continue to intensify,” Delgado said, urging the city to consider rightsizing IT investment during the budget cycle.
Hunter acknowledged staffing remains the department’s biggest challenge and said the team will continue to prioritize cyber‑resilience, reliability and modernization while coordinating with departments on emergency systems and compliance.
The commission did not take a formal budget vote on IT at the meeting; commissioners flagged the issue for the upcoming budget cycle and asked staff to provide comparative data and multi‑year cost scenarios.
