DALTON, Mass. — The town is preparing for technological changes that are expected to occur within the next few years.

 

The Finance Committee approved an information technology services line of $66,000, a 7.4 percent decrease, during its meeting last Wednesday.

 

The hardware purchases line is decreasing by half to $5,000 as town meeting will be asked to approve the use of $20,040 in free cash toward the purchase of 15 new computers.

 

The town is updating to Windows 11 as MicroSoft will not be supporting Windows 10 in the future. 

 

This will be phased in over the next two years with a second money article in fiscal 2026 for the second batch of 15 computers. Then, in FY27, the town will need to purchase a server, Finance Committee member Michael Lacker said. 

 

Lacker is also the president of Renatus Solutions LLC, which provides the town with information technology services. He abstained from voting on this budget. 

 

"We will also be doing this next year. We expect to be also buying another 15 computers next year. We do have time to do that," Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said. 

 

"There are other hardware purchases that we make besides the actual computer unit, which is why we are keeping some money in that account."

 

On the heels of these purchases, the town will need to replace the servers that are running Windows Serve 2016 because that will be phased out by October 2026, Lacker said. 

 

What is being appropriated covers the cost of purchasing the computers, putting them together, and getting the software on it, he said. 

 

Lacker cautioned against lowering the budget because changes, including those to Microsoft Office and cybersecurity, are coming. 

 

The town previously bought a license for Microsoft Office Professional, which lasted several years. Since then the company has gone to a subscription model so Lacker has to determine what licensing plan the town should get on. 

 

In addition to that there are changes to cybersecurity that need to be made, he said. 

 

Hutcheson and Lacker took a questionnaire about cybersecurity developed by the nonprofit Center for Internet Security that looks at the best practices for 18 Critical Security Controls.

 

"It was something we signed up for from the state and it really seemed like it didn't necessarily matter what tool you used. They just wanted to make sure you had a tool for logging for various different things," Lacker said.

 

The town has been doing many of the things on the list. Still, the organization recommended a couple of changes, including keeping logs for a longer period of time, having an inventory system, and tracking every device's location and who's using it. 

 

The other side of that is the state changes to its security requirements for accessing the Criminal Justice Information System overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

The FBI wanted to see every police officer who has logged into the system, how long they have been logged in and when they logged off, and tracking of log-in attempts to ensure someone is not trying to brute force a password, Lacker said. 

 

CJIS is suggesting the town get two or three pieces of software, at least two, Hutcheson said. 

 

"I'm looking for a package that encompasses the whole thing, I don't want to go chasing each piece," Lacker said. 

 

The Finance Committee was surprised to find out that the telecommunications budget is decreasing 4.88 percent bringing it to $50,300, because the Senior Center is now part of the town's fiber ring network. 

 

The town's municipal buildings are also connected to a fiber network, eliminating the $2,100 annual bill from Charter Communications, Town Accountant Sandra Albano said. 

 

"So, we're already reaping a dividend from having our loop," Chair William Drosehn said. 

 

The committee approved the assessor's budget in the amount of $124,681, a 2.56 percent increase from FY24. The main factor for the increase is contractual pay increases. 

 

Hutcheson noted that there are four positions budgeted for because the third assessor and the assessor's clerk are actually filled by the same person. 

 

"When that person acts as an assessor, they're paid the assessor's rate," he said. 

 

"... It's my understanding that the assessor's clerk, the third assessor, is going to be in training for the next few years…not everything can be done online." 

 

In other new: 

 

Hutcheson is requesting aid from one Select Board member and one Finance Committee member to help with a personnel study, which would review some position classifications to ensure people are in the right place. 

 

Finance Committee member Michael Jerome volunteered to help with this endeavor.