The Board of Supervisors is attempting to cut IT costs by hiring a full time county IT employee.

The Board approved hiring Aaron French for the county’s IT department on Aug. 21. The full time county employee is expected to cut costs by eliminating overtime hours currently worked by the contract employee with Datastar, said County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin.

The Board has chosen to continue the county’s current contract with Datastar Inc. for IT services, said County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin.

The budgeted cost for one full time county employee, a full time contracted employee and contracted oversight is $368,350. That number includes the cost of hiring one county employee—budgeted at $103,350, and the cost for contracting services and oversight—budgeted at $265,000.

The total plan for county IT expenses is budgeted at $478,350, which includes IT services, equipment and office supplies.

The county has spent a total of $506,953 on IT expenses, including services, equipment and office supplies, in the current fiscal year. The county has spent $384,379 on contractual services in the current fiscal year, with $316,363 going to Datastar Inc. for IT services.

The cost for continuing to use Datastar Inc. for county IT services without an in house county employee was budgeted at an estimated $400,000 by the county, so the county saves an estimated $31,650 by using an in house county employee in combination with the existing contract employee and oversight.

The Board considered hiring two in house county employees with contractual oversight for $281,050, but was concerned about finding two in house county employees with the right qualifications, according to previous coverage.