Stafford Council approves $95,000 to replace firewalls, lock five‑year Cisco enterprise agreement

Stafford City Council voted to allocate $95,000 from the fund balance to replace aging Palo Alto firewall devices with two Cisco 1250 units and to enter a five‑year Cisco enterprise agreement that staff said will stabilize licensing and subscription costs.

Director of Information Technology (speaker 16) told the council that recent contract renewals for the city's Palo Alto devices had shown sharp increases — including a cited 99.5% jump in one line item — and presented a five‑year projection that, he said, makes the Cisco option cheaper over time. "What I'm asking for right now from contingency is 95,000," the director said, summarizing the immediate ask and the first‑year enterprise costs.

Council members asked for budget detail and whether the Stafford Center could participate; the director said the enterprise agreement would permit the city to include Stafford Center subscriptions at discounted rates and that some implementation professional services and optics were estimated in the one‑time total. One councilmember moved to allocate $95,000 from the fund balance; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

The director described the long‑term plan to phase the project and fold recurring subscription costs into the annual IT budget (he cited an estimated recurring annual expense of roughly $45,879.01). He also said the city would continue evaluating vendors and working with IT and finance to minimize surprises. The council recorded the motion and vote on the record and the purchase was authorized for procurement and implementation planning.