IT notice
3/23/2023
The Town of Odon has long used a particular software program for payments and disbursements for water, sewer, and trash. The software is nearly thirty years old and is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. In today’s world of cybersecurity risks, phishing, and ransomware, it is important to protect data with the most up-to-date antivirus software available, and the aged billing software is not compliant with today’s necessary protective software. Odon Town Clerk-Treasurer Mandy Wilz recently began working with RTC Communications as an Information Technology Managed Services Provider to assist with technical support in protecting the software as well as other computer-related items in the Town Hall.
Recently, there have been complications with the aged billing software which required much of Clerk-Treasurers Wilz’ s time to focus on maintaining. At the end of February, the Clerk-Treasurer worked diligently with multiple vendors, including IT partner RTC Communications and their partners, as well as the parent company of the billing software, to restore data once again after necessary updates were attempted to be installed by the software company. For approximately four business days, the software was unavailable, but is fully operational as of March 10, 2023. At this time, there is no indication of a data leak, virus issue, or data loss. It is simply a situation where aging software is no longer able to function well. During this time, Clerk-Treasurer Wilz instituted a back-up plan for paper billing to continue to seamlessly serve residents while also facilitating multiple IT vendors to work on the software. There was no impact to operations or cash flow for the Town.
The Odon Town Council and Clerk-Treasurer Wilz are continuing to work with RTC Communications on a pathway that will provide recommendations to improve the operational efficiency and security of the computer systems.