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St. Lawrence County administrator proposes creating IT director position

Posted 5/13/21

BY ANDY GARDNER North Country This Week CANTON – County Administrator Ruth Doyle is proposing the county’s IT department add an information technology director. She brought up the proposal during …

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St. Lawrence County administrator proposes creating IT director position

Posted

BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

CANTON – County Administrator Ruth Doyle is proposing the county’s IT department add an information technology director.

She brought up the proposal during the Board of Legislators’ Monday, May 10 Operations Committee meeting.

“I think the last year with COVID has highlighted the importance of information technology like no other year I can remember. Having to go remote within 48 hours and doing it successfully is a remarkable task,” Doyle said.

The county’s small IT department has several employees and a manager, and some of the decisions that a director would typically make, like working on the annual budget, had been done by another department head, she said.

She added that the department needs a director for succession planning and planning for the future.

“Succession planning is critical in all areas, but most critical in information technology,” she said.

Legislator John Burke, R-Norfolk, asked if an IT director’s job would include malware protection.

“The recent events with the pipeline makes you wonder how vulnerable we are, and if this would be part of the new director’s responsibility to protect us from malware,” he said. He was referring to the recent malware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which provides a lot of petroleum, diesel and jet fuel to the East Coast.

Doyle said the state is currently helping with things like that.

“It’s been shared with me -- they monitor our website, they monitor our systems,” Doyle said. “Less than a month ago, we had an unusual circumstance they’re helping us out with.”

“IT today is as important, if not more important, than keeping the lights on. IT helps us keep the lights on,” said Legislator Larry Denesha, R-DeKalb. “I think this goes a long way toward that goal with retention. It expands a career path. It also feeds into our succession planning.”

Legislator Margaret Haggard, D-Potsdam, asked if the $74,663 base salary is competitive.

“It tops out at $92,503. I think in the public sector ... I believe compared to the private sector, we don’t compete,” Doyle said. “The 74,000 is probably low.”