Pearl River County outspends three other Mississippi counties with similar population sizes in terms of information and technology expenses.

Pearl River County has spent $506,953.74 on IT services, equipment and maintenance so far in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The county had an estimated population of 55,387 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts.

The county employs outside contractor Datastar Inc. for IT services, according to previous coverage. Datastar Inc. provides one full time employee for regular maintenance and a second employee who provides managerial services, according to previous coverage.

Hancock County expects to spend approximately $399,500 on IT services and contracts for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, said Hancock County comptroller Nancy Kelly. That number typically includes any equipment upgrades, Kelly said. Hancock County had an estimated population of 47,334 for 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts.

That budget includes three county employees who provide Hancock County’s IT services, Kelly said.

Lowndes County spent $95,000 on IT services for the last fiscal year, said Lowndes County Chief Financial Officer Lloyd Price. Lowndes County had an estimated population of 58,930 in 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts.

Lowndes County has one full time employee who performs IT services, Price said. The IT budget for Lowndes County only includes the single IT employee’s payroll and office expenses, Price said.

Equipment upgrades are budgeted within each department and are not included in Lowndes County’s IT budget, Price said.

Lamar County spent approximately $467,000 on its IT department in the last fiscal year, said Lamar County Administrator Joseph Waits. Lamar County had an estimated population of 62,447 in 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts.

Lamar County has three county employees who provide IT services, Waits said. Lamar County’s IT expenses include running IT infrastructure, assisting election commissioners, any software licenses, updates to software and new hardware purchases, Waits said.