At today’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners Court, approval was given to several upgrades and improvements to the various computer systems used by County offices.

Sam Goldsmith of Goldsmith Solutions, the County’s IT (Information Technology) consultant, presented six requests to the Commissioners.  First was approval for County Judge Shane Britton to sign an agreement with Goldsmith Solutions for Microsoft licensing for Email and Microsoft Office applications.  Currently the County’s Microsoft License Agreement is obtained through the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) and costs $1,274 per month.  The current licenses in place, however, are not in compliance, according to Goldsmith.  The County has 140 licenses of the Office 365 Exchange Online Plan 1, and 35 licenses of Office 365 Business Standard.  Goldsmith said that to be up to date and in compliance, the County should have 36 of the first license and 137 of the second one.  If purchased through the current TAC provider, the cost would be $2,390 per month.  If purchased through Goldsmith, the cost would be $2,032 per month, a monthly savings of $ 358.

Next was a recommendation to obtain a “.gov” domain from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)/Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  There is no cost to register a “.gov” domain, but it does require official court action and can only be obtained by official government agencies.  Sam Goldsmith told the Commissioners that the “.gov” domain is more secure (vs. malicious imposters) and helps the public quickly identify the County’s website as the valid, official site.  The County’s current website “Browncountytx.org” will continue to work and remain in place, but all County website services and email will eventually be transferred to “Browncountytx.gov.”  Goldsmith also recommended that the County obtain “Browncountytx.com” and “Browncountytx.net” to ensure that malicious actors not create such sites and try to represent themselves as the official County website.  Any online contact to the “,org,” “.com,” and “.net” sites will be redirected to the “Browncountytx.gov” website.

Goldsmith next recommended changes to the County’s Adobe licensing agreement.  The County currently has individual Adobe licenses that cost $179.88 per year per user for Adobe Standard, and $287.88 per year per user for Adobe Professional.  Goldsmith recommended that be changed to an Adobe Volume License Agreement that would be purchased from DELL through an agreement with the Texas Department of Information Resources.  Purchased this way the licenses will cost $92.40 per year per user.  Goldsmith estimates that 25-50 users need Adobe license.

Next Goldsmith requested approval for the purchase of supplies to have on hand as his company works to upgrade the County’s IT systems.  The list of supplies includes batteries, extension cords, power strips, various office supplies, cleaning supplies, storage bins, tape, tools, cables, cords, etc.  The total cost is $19,617.

Goldsmith also submitted a list of IT equipment to purchase.  The list includes document scanners, Dell monitors, HDMI cables, Brio web cameras, conference speakers, battery backups, equipment racks, and a 65″ television on a rolling cart. The television can be used in courtrooms that do not currently have video capabilities, in budget workshops, IT committee meetings, and so on.  The cost of the IT equipment requested is $25,478.

And finally Goldsmith requested permission to recycle tech equipment that no longer is being used.  His company has removed over 275 items from the Courthouse, Law Enforcement Center, and the Veteran’s Service Center.  The items include laptop and desktop computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, scanners, battery backups, fax machines, speakers, etc.  Hard drives have been removed, the data saved, and will be destroyed in the future.  The items can be recycled through the DELL Reconnect program.

The Commissioners voted approval for all of the above recommendations and requests.

In other business:

*** The Commissioners heard a request from District Attorney Michael Murray to apply for a Victim Coordinator and Liaison Grant.  Murray also requested approval for the hiring of a new Assistant District Attorney, Carol Landers.  Commissioners approved both requests.

*** Opened sealed bid for a 4-year County bank depository agreement.  Bids were received from Citizens National Bank and Texas Bank.  The bids will be reviewed by a committee consisting of County Treasurer Ann Krpoun, County Auditor Jennifer Robison, County Attorney Jennifer Broughton, and Commissioners Larry Traweek and Gary Worley.  The committee will report back to the full Commissioners Court on April 17.

*** Reviewed bids from various companies for paving, bulk hauling, cold mix cover stone caliche, and blasting/crushing of rock.  Bids for the various tasks were received from Mobley Construction, Martin Earthworks, Diamond P Aggregates, Wright Asphalt, Ergon Asphalt, Vulcan Materials, Dewey Grider, and Zack Burnett.  The Commissioners voted to accept all bids and to use them as needed.

*** Per a request from Angie Dees, Director of the Senior Citizen Center, approved the signing of the Texas Feeding Texans: Home Delivery Meals Grant Affidavit.

*** Approved a request from Lifeguard Ambulance Service to increase the base rates they charge for services. Lifeguard has not had a rate increase since 2018.  The rates will increase by 30%.

*** Approved a request from CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to declare April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month.