Barrington is hiring an IT consultant.

The Barrington Town Council unanimously approved the expenditure during the Feb. 3 meeting. The IT (information technology) consultant is Barrington-based Jim Lass of Velocity Solutions. The consultant will help the town maintain cybersecurity protections and serve as a resource for Barrington’s new on-staff IT manager.

Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey supported the new hire. He said the IT consultant will provide an advanced level of expertise. Hervey recommended the council approve a bid from Lass, who has experience working with the Barrington School Department and the local police and fire departments. 

According to the bid, Lass will earn $100 per hour. 

Hervey said it was a flexible arrangement that will also benefit the IT manager, which the town is reportedly in the process of hiring. 

Between those two positions the town will be in a good position to move away from the vendor it currently works with, Hervey said. The town manager said this change would also save the town money. 

Barrington Town Council President Braxton Cloutier asked Hervey how much money the town would be saving with the new IT arrangement. 

Hervey did not have that information available at the Feb. 3 meeting but said he hopes to provide it to the council at their next monthly meeting. Hervey added that the financial picture surrounding the IT changes was “more complicated than you think.”

Councilor Kate Berard told Hervey she did not like approving something that did not include a budget cap. She asked the town manager if there was a figure that they could use to cap the expenditure for the IT consultant. 

Hervey pushed back a bit. He said he normally agrees with capping that type of expenditure, but felt that in the case of the IT consultant, he felt confident that the town should be able to work with him to maintain the budget. 

Berard insisted the town establish a budget cap. 

She said if the municipal government later neared the cap, it could return to the council for an adjustment. Berard said not having a cap to the IT consultant expenditure was “a little willy nilly.” She then asked for an estimated cost.

Hervey said $40,000 per year should work. That broke down to 400 hours of work, or 7.5 hours per week. 

Councilor Liana Cassar asked if capping the expenditure would present a potential limitation for the town and jeopardize the town’s ability to respond to a cyber-security emergency.  

Berard countered, saying that officials could always come back to the council for a budget adjustment. 

Hervey said municipal officials may have a better idea of the cost estimate for the IT consultant in a month or so, as they wade deeper into drafting the proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2026. 

Berard then made a motion to approve the bid for Velocity Solutions, including a not-to-exceed amount of $40,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. 

She said there would be an option to extend the contract in the future — the town manager was welcome to come back to the council for an adjustment in the future. 

Cloutier seconded the motion, which passed 5-0.