Canfield council creates IT department

staff report

CANFIELD — City council has approved the creation of an information technology department and is making plans to hire a full-time information technology employee.

Council took the action Wednesday.

In recent years, the number of computers and other information systems being used have grown a great deal, said Charles Tieche, city manager. “With the amount that is going on, it makes sense to hire someone full-time,” he said.

Council set aside $89,405 in the recently approved budget for the new department, $50,485 of which will be spent on the pay and benefits for the employee, and the rest being for other costs associated with running the department, Tieche said.

The city has paid a variety of outside companies to assist with the installation and operation of computers, networks, file servers and the like.

But having someone full-time will provide a more immediate level of service, Tieche said. In addition, having a city employee on the job will mean that the person working on the systems will have a greater level of familiarity with them, he said.

Tieche estimated that creating the department will be about $10,000 more expensive than what the city pays now.

The next step will be to hire someone. The city has someone in mind who has worked on the city’s technology in the past, Tieche said.