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Council rejects outside IT review, instructs existing vendor ETC to perform assessment
Summary
After debate over cost and independence, the council voted down a contract to hire outside reviewer Scott Mathis and instead instructed the city’s existing contractor, ETC, to perform an IT and security assessment, with the option to hire Mathis later as a second opinion.
Council members on Wednesday voted against hiring an outside contractor to perform a citywide technology review and instead instructed the city’s existing vendor, ETC, to conduct the assessment and report back to the mayor.
Council member Bubba urged the council to hire an outside expert, saying the city has “network deficiencies” and that an independent review would identify security and backup shortfalls. “I came in here. I’ve been in this seat 3 months, and in 3 months’ time, it took me no time at all to realize there’s network deficiencies here,” Bubba said, noting he had asked Scott Mathis, the school system’s director of information technology, to provide an outside evaluation.
Other council members countered that ETC, the city’s current contractor, already provides regular service and could be directed under the existing agreement to perform a review. One council member said ETC is paid $275 per month for five hours of service and questioned spending an additional $1,600 for an outsider. “If ETC can do it, and we’re already paying them, why spend $1,600 more that we don’t have to,” a council member said.
The motion to enter a contract with Scott Mathis failed on a council vote. A subsequent motion passed directing the mayor to instruct ETC to undertake the review and to provide council members with a copy of the instructions sent to the vendor. That motion also allowed hiring Mathis later as a second opinion if ETC’s report left unresolved questions.
The council did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; results were taken by voice/hand vote. The council did not specify a deadline for ETC’s report in the motion recorded in the meeting minutes.
What happens next: The mayor will instruct ETC to conduct the assessment; council members said they expect to review ETC’s findings and may consider an independent second opinion if concerns persist.
