City of Decorah and Winneshiek County may hire another computer expert

City of Decorah and Winneshiek County officials met Wednesday to discuss the technology needs of each government.  The two share the works of the county's two IT specialists, Jon Lubke and "Chopper" Albert.

City Clerk Wanda Hemesath spoke in favor of hiring a third IT specialist, saying there is "time-critical work that needs to be done."  City officials estimate that there is currently a three to six month backlog of work needing to be done.

County supervisor Dean Thompson suggested conducting a "workload analysis" that would help both governments to draft a long-term plan for IT services.  That suggestion got support from both city and county officials, who want to do the long-term study at the same time they are hiring a third IT expert.