Community Corner

Township Hiring IT Pro to Tackle Tech Issues

Township manager Scott Carew said the township has been getting by with an outside firm for the last several months—but it's just not the same.

The township has been getting by since losing its information technology (IT) professional last fall, but it hasn’t always been pretty, according to township manager Scott Carew.

Township staff have periodically grappled with downed email and wonky phones since former IT professional John Polkiewicz left last September, and while the township has a contract with IT firm Ancero, it’s just not the same.

“It’s not that we have problems with them … They’re doing what we expected them to do,” said Carew. “But it is very different than having someone here.”

The township’s pays Ancero a $5,130 flat fee each month for general maintenance—Polkiewicz was making roughly $80,000 annually, according to township financial officer Tom Merchel—and while most work falls under the terms of that contract, unexpected tech hiccups can result in extra fees, not to mention lengthy downtime, explained Carew.

“This is just how the world of IT outsourcing works,” he said. “When you have someone with engineer-level expertise like John, your downtime is tremendously lowered.”

Additionally, having an IT professional in-house would allow the township to be proactive, rather than reactive, Carew said. Staff could develop a long-term plan and keep an eye on the latest technology and how it could benefit the township.

Council gave Carew permission this week to hire a new professional. He expects to bring someone on in the next few months.

“It’s something we need to do soon,” he said, mentioning how critical the position will be once the township begins to transition into the new town hall/library building, as well as assisting with the reboot of the township website.

Carew said he has been working with QScend—the firm that helped design the current website—to develop a plan to make the site more efficient and user-friendly, and use it as a tool to market Moorestown to potential businesses.

He said the primary reason for rebooting the website is so the township can more effectively inform and communicate with residents.

"We want the site to be easily and logically navigated," he said. "We don’t want residents going on our website, looking for specific information, and not being able to find it … And we need to make sure our information is kept current."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here