City of Decorah is moving towards having its own IT Department

The Decorah City Council took two steps Monday night that brought it closer to having the city's own IT Department.  Currently the city shares a program with Winneshiek County.

But Monday night the city council voted 5-1 to give notice to Winneshiek County that it might end its current 28e agreement with the county for sharing IT staff.  On a similar vote it approved authorizing the hiring of an information technologies staff person.  City council member Charles Lore voted against both proposals.

The votes came despite concerns raised by Decorah Library Director Lorraine Borowski that the current sharing agreement "is doing what it was intended to do."  She said partnerships such as the one with Winneshiek County are especially good at a time when money is tight.  Sharing staff with the county allows both governments to have "a wide variety of expertise," she noted.

City Administrator Chad Bird said it would take 60 to 90 days to hire an IT person, with the new employee starting perhaps July 1st or August 1st.