Reprinted from an August 13, 2008 artcile in the Daily Hampshire Gazette by Catherine Baum

SOUTHAMPTON – Some people working in Town Hall are questioning a project to upgrade the building's computer equipment and network.

Last week, when Jason Turcotte, of Turcotte Data and Designs in Easthampton, presented a summary of the project at a selectman's meeting, officials seemed to support the project to centralize data storage.

But a few people who work in Town Hall did not.

"I was somewhat surprised at the resistance," Selectmen Chairman Jess Dods said Wednesday. "This is not something that we just all of a sudden decided we were going to do."

Turcotte will return to elaborate on the project at the next selectmen meeting, which starts Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

"No one likes change. My role is to make the changes as painless as possible," Turcotte said.

Year-old goal

Upgrading the Town Hall's technology has been a goal of town officials for more than a year, Dods noted.

The building's computers operate in a peer-to-peer network akin to what "someone would run in their home," Turcotte said. "Right now they don't have a traditional network like most town halls. Any time an agency, organization or business needs to share information they're really going to see a boost in efficiency if they have a server."

Town Administrator Diana Schindler said interest in purchasing a server grew out of a wish to prevent computer problems. A wireless network was previously installed and failed, in part, because the building is old and the signal was slow or unattainable. The network used now is slow, and when one computer problem arises, after it's fixed, there tends to be a "ripple effect" of problems on another computer, Schindler said.

The new server is set to reduce data redundancy, centralize data storage and backup, and increase security with a new firewall and a centrally administered anti-virus product that will ensure individual user data and privacy, Turcotte said.

Turcotte, who also services the town's fire, highway and police departments, has been providing technological support in Town Hall for more than a year, and has talked with Schindler about the need for a server.

But not all town board members were aware of the steps to make this happen. "If this was in the works, why weren't the departments consulted?" Barbara LaFlam, of the Board of Assessors, said Wednesday. "It's expensive and it doesn't seem to benefit the public."

Turcotte originally met with Town Hall staff to introduce the project on June 11, following the town's approval of a $158,942 capital plan at Town Meeting, $7,500 of which is allotted for a computer network server for Town Hall.

Schindler said the project will end up costing the town less than $7,500, and will save the town money on repairs. Technology services amounted to $1,310 in the last fiscal year, while $2,542 was spent in technology equipment.

Six weeks after the meeting, plans to purchase the server were made, according to Schindler. "Nobody said anything," Schindler said, until the boxes arrived in Town Hall.

Town Clerk Eileen Couture seemed surprised at the steps taken following the June 11 informational meeting.

"Everybody's up in arms about this – we thought it was a presentation," Couture said at last week's meeting. "Now it's being bought. I think that's wrong."

Catherine Baum can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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