Cuyahoga County’s Department of Information Technology outlined its operating needs, cybersecurity priorities and capital plan during the Nov. 3 budget hearing.

Andy Johnson, the county’s chief information officer, described a broad IT footprint that spans the county’s data centers, courts, HHS sites and more than 100 locations countywide and said cybersecurity is the department’s top operational concern. He said the department is authorized for 163 positions and currently has 147 active employees, noting a hiring freeze has limited new hires.

Johnson identified several budget drivers: anticipated increases in enterprise licensing (he cited Microsoft fee increases and AT&T costs), consulting and maintenance lines, and a one‑time 2026 hardware refresh for Health & Human Services as those services are consolidated into county data centers. He said IT’s operating budgets for 2026–27 include a $500,000 vacancy credit and that the department plans to offset licensing increases by tightening license usage and charging other entities for mobile and other services where appropriate.

On capital projects, Johnson said the county plans a multi‑year Infor (ERP) upgrade. He told council the ERP contract negotiated across the multi‑year plan totals roughly $12,000,000 and that the implementation timing and capital lines are shown in the capital plan; budget office staff confirmed the ERP funding appears in the capital budget rather than the IT operating budget. Council members asked for clarity on how much of the ERP cost is already reflected in capital planning for 2026–27; IT and budget staff said capital lines will be adjusted to reflect negotiated contract amounts as the process proceeds.

Johnson said the department is continuing multi‑year investments in network hardware replacement and other infrastructure to replace legacy equipment and to improve security.