Minutes-05-23-2023-Budget Work Session

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34 Jim Northrup said the main reason for the drop was the company changed the scoring metrics and that affected the score. He said one of the things was web-headers and they were not configured properly and could allow interference, so they have started making corrections with that and have worked with Civic Plus. He said it takes about 6 months to a year to register those improvements in the scores. He said that it should be back to 770 or 780 by October. Commissioner Richards asked if 850 is a realistic goal. Jim Northrup said that he believes it is. He said that even at 850, they still are not at 100%. He said that 100% is not realistic but 850 is achievable. Vice-Chair McKee asked if exposure from international operators is a concern. Jim Northrup said that they have so many different layers to help capture when things happen locally but that the general threat has been non-NATO countries. He said those are blocked and no traffic is allowed. He said sometimes residents live in countries around the world who need to access website and will have to contact county to make an exception. He said that happens 4-5 times a year because they block a lot of traffic from those non-NATO countries. Vice-Chair McKee said he is not expecting the attacks to go away. Jim Northrup said they have put a lot of effort into data integrity and ensuring the data is protected through a layered security approach. He said there are about five different ways the network is being protected. Commissioner Fowler asked if previously the Microsoft contract was a different term. Jim Northrup said the county is moving to the Microsoft Office 365 subscription model and they previously bought licenses about every six years for updates. He said that it is more expensive to go to the subscription model but the benefit for collaboration is much greater. Commissioner Fowler asked about Digital Cheetah Animal Services. Jim Northrup said it is a new volunteer management tool for Animal Services and they can also do online training. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about FY 23-24 highlights for the rural broadband initiative. Jim Northrup said they are currently contracted with Lumos with the ARPA funds, and they have been meeting with them monthly for progress reports. He said they are a little behind on Phase 1, but only by about a month. He said they will have caught up by September in Phase 2. He said that they are getting phone calls now and once the trucks start, they will get a lot of calls and those calls are given to Lumos. He said that close to ten calls or emails a week are coming in asking about the project. He said that they are looking at close to 99% of households in Orange County that will be covered, and the project will be completed in 2025. Vice-Chair McKee asked if it was December 2024 or 2025. Travis Myren said December 2024. Jim Northrup said it was December 2024. Vice-Chair McKee said there is a drop-dead date for the use of the funds and those funds have to be spent.. Jim Northrup said it is not just Lumos that is laying fiber in Orange County now and that Spectrum and Brightspeed are improving their networks. He said they are not going to address rural residents, so the investment from the county is important. Commissioner Greene said this is what they hoped would happen. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if there is hope for the 1% of households not covered. Travis Myren said the county will work with Lumos to see if those can be covered in the existing project. Vice-Chair McKee said they have projected more coverage than what the contract calls for. Jim Northrup said they are also going to be overlying on areas that already have broadband and will be direct competitors to Spectrum and Brightspeed. He said as they are