Town seeks $150,000 to replace aging badging system across municipal buildings

Cyber services director Jeremy Spalding told the committee the town's current badging and access system is 15'20 years old, based on prox cards that are easily cloned, and operates on an unsupported Windows 7 computer. He proposed a cloud-based replacement to provide centralized credentialing, audit trails, mobile badges and temporary guest credentials.

Spalding said the full program would cover six facilities and 28 doors in a multi-year phased plan. Total cost was estimated at $150,000, with $58,000 already committed in the current year; phase 1 (about 15 town-hall doors) is under contract for the next few months. He said the proposal includes three years of cloud service and that ongoing cloud fees are expected to be about $6,500 per year after that initial period.

Committee members asked about interoperability with school credentials, extension to a future DPW facility and athletics fields, and whether remote fields lack adequate network connectivity. Spalding said the chosen platform can interoperate with school systems (while keeping separate legal access domains), and that DPW could be added as the building's scope becomes clear. He warned that some remote athletic sites lack reliable network access and that extending the system to those locations would increase cost.

Spalding emphasized operational benefits beyond security: central guest access for event users, the ability to link door events to cameras, and improved reporting to support asset security and personnel safety. The committee did not take a formal vote on the project; staff will continue phasing and budgeting work.