Atascosa County shifts IT oversight to auditor, creates advisory committee

Atascosa County Commissioner's Court voted June 8 to assign administrative supervision of the county IT director to the county auditor and to establish a county IT advisory committee to advise on countywide information-technology matters.

Justin Bosquez, the county IT director, told the court the package presented in the agenda includes a governance policy, an advisory-committee charter, written standards and a three-year strategic direction. "Technologies now tied into everything the county does," Bosquez said, noting payroll, courts, elections, cameras and more depend on IT. He said the main change is placing IT under the county auditor for better alignment with controls, audits, financial systems and cybersecurity.

Why it matters: The structural change centralizes administrative oversight with the county auditor's office to align technology decision-making with audit and risk controls, and it creates a formal forum for departments affected by major technology choices. Bosquez said the governance document also preserves the court's ability to move IT oversight back under commissioners' court if the court later decides that is appropriate.

The vote: A motion to approve the IT governance policy and to create the advisory committee was made and seconded on the record and carried by the court.

What to watch next: The governance materials include a committee membership list (judge or designee, a commissioner, sheriff or designee, and affected department heads) and written standards; departments will be able to use the advisory committee to discuss major technical choices before they are finalized.