Supervisors hone in on county security and IT needs

MT. PLEASANT — While Henry County navigates a time without an IT and Security Director in the wake of Derek Wellington’s resignation, supervisors express gratitude for assistance and look forward to an audit to better understand the county’s needs.

Supervisors said the county is collaborating with Absolute Security to better understand alarm and fire systems which previously fell under the supervision of former IT Director Derek Wellington.

According to Supervisor Steve Detrick, Absolute Security works with the alarm system throughout the buildings including fire alarms but excluding cameras. After visiting with representatives from the company, Detrick says he better understands the security system and how it is managed.

Additionally, Detrick shared that the supervisors acquired maps from County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss and other informational materials to understand the zones for the system.

“As far as things are concerned, we continue to make progress on the IT side of thins, too,” Detrick said.

On the technology side, the board is preparing to hire a new IT staff member as soon as a job description is finalized.

“Realistically, we’re probably looking in that four- to six-week time frame at the earliest,” Detrick said.

The position will be posted publicly and reviewed in partnership with the ITIC (Information Technology Infrastructure Consortium) team, which also assists other Iowa counties.

In the meantime, the county has relied on part-time support from contractor Mark Hahn and help from Lee County IT staff. The arrangements with Lee County and Hahn are certainly not long-term fixes, though, as Hahn has a full-time job, and Lee County has its own IT concerns to worry about.

“ We were extremely grateful for those folks for helping us out,” Detrick said. “We're going to compensate them. We just don't know how yet they're going to let us know.”

An internal audit by the ITIC team is scheduled for Oct. 29—30, according to an email shared during the meeting. The audit will begin with a kickoff session at 10 a.m. on Oct. 29, followed by department-level evaluations of the network and security systems.

On Oct. 30, the team will return for a summary meeting at 10 a.m., where findings will be discussed privately with the Board of Supervisors due to security-related content. The email noted that “the entire BOS is present is recommended.”

Supervisors expect the audit to provide a road map for strengthening county systems.

“That will tell us where we are, where we need to go, and really provide a road map,” Detrick said. “The team also will interview department heads to identify vulnerabilities and equipment needs.”

While the audit may result in recommendations for additional staff or funding, supervisors expressed readiness to make adjustments. The county currently spends about $150,000 annually on IT support.

And we’re grateful to the partners who have stepped up to keep things running.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com