Urgent security and functionality deficiencies in the technology systems supporting Grand Traverse County and Traverse City operations will cost at least $6.4 million to address, according to a new report.

County and city commissioners will hold a joint meeting at 4:30pm Wednesday at the Governmental Center to discuss a proposed strategic technology plan for upgrading the government’s IT systems. A 2016 audit identified several critical security risks in the systems that maintain all of the county and city’s criminal and court files, government documents, financial data, and community records. Traverse City contracts with Grand Traverse County for IT support, technologically yoking the two municipalities together.

The new strategic plan – prepared by Paul Knific of Epic Technology solutions – outlines an extensive list of projects totaling $6.4 million “needed to improve IT operations for the county and city.” Knific notes the hefty price tag is the “minimum” investment that will likely be required to modernize government operations and protect sensitive data. “These projects will span multiple years and have a significant cost,” Knific writes.

Topping the project list is replacing the county’s antiquated IBM AS-400 system (used by “almost every department in the county and city…for day-to-day activities”) with a newer Windows program or cloud-hosted business management software. The outdated AS-400 system was blamed for the deletion of crucial county budget data last fall and has “significant security concerns,” according to Knific. Migrating to a new system is estimated to cost at least $1.15 million.

Before departments can even be upgraded to a new system, however, the county must update its entire networking infrastructure. “No doubt about it, AS-400 is a priority,” says County IT Director Ming Mays. “But before we can pursue that, we have to fix our backbone” – an equipment list that includes network switches, routers and firewall upgrades, estimated to cost $600,000. Mays, who started in her new role last month, says she was “surprised to see how outdated” the county’s IT systems were when she began surveying the infrastructure.

“The problems were pretty transparent. There is cabling here that was discontinued 15 years ago,” she says. “It’s very outdated…it seems like it’s been mismanaged or underfunded. It has to be a priority. If we’re not fixing the network backbone, we can’t go forward here. We have to build that foundation to do everything else listed in the strategic plan.”

Other crucial projects on the list of nearly 100 (pictured) include email encryption, virus scan and ransomware protection, secure remote logins, GIS and CAD program upgrades, election system improvements, and workstation and printer updates. Future IT projects could include tech support for body cameras for the Traverse City Police Department, crime mapping, upgraded AV equipment for courtrooms and commission chambers, and WiFi upgrades, including WiFi installation at Twin Lakes Park.

Knific says the county previously prioritized its technology spending on “less critical user-facing technology.” This made the IT department “appear to be functioning by providing new mobile devices, laptops and wireless access, but these activities undermined investing in expensive core infrastructure upgrades,” he writes. “Ultimately, appropriations were not set aside for core system upgrades.”

County Deputy Administrator Jennifer DeHaan agrees past investments “were band-aids” that failed to address the serious challenges plaguing the county’s IT systems. After last year’s audit was released flagging serious security risks, the county took immediate action to address several of those vulnerabilities, she says. “But we still have significant issues we need to address. The multi-million dollar question is, how are we going to do it now that we know we have to make changes? We’re going to have plan extremely carefully before we move forward.”

Presenting the report to county and city commissioners, answering questions and gathering feedback today will be the first step in the process, according to DeHaan. The city’s participation is a vital one; how it contributes to project costs will need to be fleshed out going forward. “Our current contract for IT services (with the city) is so outdated, we’re going to have to look at that relationship,” says DeHaan. “They pay on a per-user fee basis. We’re likely going to have to increase those costs. But the project is going to have so many benefits to employees and citizens and users of our services…it’s important to our community as a whole.”

With county commissioners still struggling with how to address the county’s mounting pension debt, IT upgrades – and how to pay for them – are likely to be a major budget discussion this fall while planning for 2018, says DeHaan. “Next steps for staff will be figuring out how we implement this (IT strategic plan): drilling down on cost estimates and creating a recommended action plan and timetable for projects,” she says.

While that means the county won’t necessarily be on the hook for $6.4 million all at once – projects are anticipated to take place over the next several years – several high-dollar items will likely need to be addressed in the immediate near future.

“It must be done,” says Mays. “It’s not a choice anymore."