As the town’s “network disruption” continues into its second week, Town Clerk Katie Dupont assured the Swampscott Tides that it does not have any effect on the election next week.
The town announced a “network disruption” on August 19, and it continues to impact Town Hall and other municipal facilities, including the Senior Center. A number of board and committee meetings were canceled last week, and many have gone to in person only formats this week. It is still unknown what the exact issue is. As the technical issues persist, however, Swampscott prepares for the September 1 state primary.
“The elections are in no way affected by the network disruption,” Dupont told the Swampscott Tides. “We use a separate, secure state network for election operations.”
Early voting at Town Hall continues this week. The remaining early voting hours for the state primary are:
- Wednesday, August 26 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Thursday, August 27 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Friday, August 28 from 8 a.m. to noon
“Early voting has been in full swing this week,” Dupont said. “Things are running smoothly for us and according to plan.”
Meanwhile, technological issues around town appear to be far from resolved.
“We recently experienced a network disruption that is impacting certain aspects of our operations,” Town Administrator Nick Connors told the Swampscott Tides. “In response, we immediately took steps to secure our network. Our IT team is working diligently with third-party specialists to investigate the full nature and scope of the incident and securely restore files and systems as expeditiously as possible.”
Connors, who is currently out of the office, did not respond to additional questions about what the exact issues are nor the town’s information technology contracts.
Shannon O’Leary, the executive assistant to the town administrator and Select Board, confirmed that Swampscott works with HiQ Computers, but said she deferred to Connors’ comments on questions about the contract and the broader issue.
“We have no information for you about Swampscott,” May Chan of HiQ Computers told the Swampscott Tides.
The Select Board discussed in May joining the North Shore IT Collaborative, which is a regional partnership between Danvers, Essex, Hamilton, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Middleton, Topsfield and Wenham. The goal was to move away from a “break-fix” model to a forward-looking system that includes planning, cybersecurity improvements and better vendor pricing.
Select Board Chair Katie Phelan called it a “unicorn situation” that would reduce costs and improve services. Select Board Member Wayne Spritz noted that the collaborative could address issues with the town’s website, like broken links and overall functionality.
Connors had said the town was working through an agreement process and that he had anticipated onboarding at the start of the new fiscal year, which began July 1. Ipswich is also considering joining the North Shore IT Collaborative.
At a meeting in Essex on July 13, Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki noted that the collaborative would review its current capacity “without having to hire additional staff.”
Meanwhile, as issues persist in Swampscott, Lt. Brendan Reen previously told the Swampscott Tides that the Swampscott Police Department has “not had any involvement with investigating the technical issues with the town.” The Essex County District Attorney’s Office had told the Swampscott Tides the office would “get involved if or when someone was criminally charged.”
