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County IT and dispatch costs rise after new CAD deployment; IT director seeks reserve for server replacement
Summary
Franklin County’s new CentralSquare dispatch/CAD system and rising software, warranty and VPN licensing costs pushed the communications budget up; IT staff asked the committee to add $50,000 to an IT reserve to prepare for an anticipated server replacement in the next fiscal cycles.
Franklin County’s communications and IT director told the budget committee on April 17 that the recent rollout of a new CentralSquare computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) system and higher renewal fees for software and hardware warranties have produced a sizable recurring increase in the communications budget.
The county’s share of the CentralSquare maintenance and licensing is about $126,000 annually; municipal partners will reimburse a portion of that amount (the IT director said municipalities’ shares are billed separately and expected to reimburse roughly $55,000–$60,000). The director said some software renewals and warranty costs have risen sharply because of global supply and component price increases.
The IT lead explained a multi‑year plan that includes shifting some on‑premises services to cloud hosting to reduce the need for a large one‑time server purchase. He estimated a full server replacement could cost roughly $250,000 if deferred and recommended adding $50,000 to the IT reserve this budget cycle to smooth those future needs.
The committee asked for documentation on municipal reimbursement agreements and asked the IT director to provide current reserve balances, contract renewal calendars and a more detailed migration and total‑cost‑of‑ownership plan for moving services to the cloud.
What happens next: the IT department will supply written cost allocations for the CentralSquare CAD contract, municipal invoicing descriptions and a reserve‑balance report for committee review.
