SALEM — The finance committee forwarded a proposal to create a new full-time city position to the city council for approval.

During the committee’s meeting Tuesday Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey presented a proposal create a new full-time IT Director position and to hire Eric Wagner to take over the city’s technological needs. Dickey explained that while in the past the city has contracted its IT needs through Victor Trimmer, that more than a year ago Trimmer informed that city he did not want to enter a new contract as he felt unable to meet the needs of the city beyond the services he provided for the police department and 911 system and that a subsequent contract for Salem Computer to take over the city’s IT needs had fallen through. She also said that several IT agencies had been reviewed as a possible solution but that all wanted to replace significant amounts of the city’s digital equipment at the city’s expense and wanted upfront fees on top of their annual price, noting that the lowest quote was for $96,000 annually, while the rest exceeded $100,000 annually.

Dickey and City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello argued that creating a full-time position with benefits would actually be the cheapest solution to the city’s IT needs, as it is currently paying Trimmer for $125 per hour for IT services beyond the police department, and that the salary would be less than the $100,000 budgeted for IT services this year; and that it would lead to faster turnaround times for those services as the IT Director would not have the needs of other clients to consider. They also noted that if created the cost of the salary would be divided between the city’s budget, and those of the Parks Department, Health Department, and Utility Department which are all semi-autonomous and have their own budgets.

Dickey said that Garner was chosen as the potential candidate as he had direct experience working on the city’s existing IT infrastructure from working closely with Trimmer in the past and knew it “inside and out.” Cappuzzello said that if approved one of the IT Director’s first projects would be to upgrade the city’s cyber security and implement two-factor authentication throughout the city.

The board ultimately voted unanimously to direct city Law-Director Brooke Zellers to draft an update to the city’s wage ordinance to add the new position. The drafted ordinance will still require approval by the city council.