Genesee County officials are looking to add more fiber.
Fiber cable, that is. Genesee County obtained estimates from Empire Access for installing one strand of fiber, each, from County Building 2 on Route 5 to Emergency Management Services at 7690 State Street Rd., and from County Building 2 to Genesee County Airport, 4701 East Saile Drive. All locations are located in the town of Batavia.
The county attorney and Ways & Means Committee reviewed the proposal made by Director of Information Technology Michael Burns and recommended the move.
Burns said the cost would be $3,000 for each installation, with two 36-month lease agreements with the Plattsburgh-based company. Each lease is $500 per month and is to take effect from July 1, 2022, through July 31, 2025.
The county’s IT Department will request a total budget transfer of $12,000 ($6,000 to cover each connection) to cover the monthly and installation charges for each of the two strands of fiber, the resolution states.
“The company still has a few radio systems in place for providing Internet service and communication to our data centers,” Burns said.
Harder fibers can “very aggressively pair with running fiber to our buildings,” he said. Empire Access offered solutions for both installations, and for less money than the county was paying last year, he said.
Burns also proposed retaining SpyGlass Group, LLC to audit the county’s phone and Internet system for potential savings. There’s no money required upfront, and SpyGlass makes its money only if it finds and recommends potential savings measures.
“And what they do is they look at the internet consulting contracts that companies or other businesses have in place and refer opportunities to save money,” Burns said. “So what they will do is they're going to look at our past bills and see what we overpaid … they will also then go through our sales to see if there's any possible consequence or the number of bills or things, that we can do better.”
There will be no cost upfront, he said, as the company makes money only if the county adopts any of the recommended strategies.
“Let’s hope they find some savings for us,” Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said.
