HERMANN — Several weeks ago, Gasconade County Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte brought from a conference to the County Commission a caution about the vulnerability of county governments’ computer networks to cyber attacks and an offer by the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) to conduct a review of those systems and offer advice on increasing security.

The Commission agreed to take up the state agency on its offer. It never received a response. At Thursday’s Commission session, Schulte let his frustration be known. “I’m disappointed,” he said. “That was a big waste of time” waiting on the DPS to respond.

As a result, the Commission agreed to seek bids from outside companies to conduct a review of the computer network.

Of primary concern is the part of the network that involves the County Clerk’s Office — essentially the heart of county government because it is involved in one sense or another to every other county department. And, it is essentially working with two networks — one for the everyday functions of county government, the second the more sensitive elections function.

The security of the elections portions is of particular interest to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, the chief elections agency of state government. Indeed, the computer company AQM of Washington is giving state government a bid on what needs to be done to harden the security of the county’s elections operations.

“Their goal is 100-percent elections security,” County Clerk Lesa Lietzow told the Commission.

AQM might be one of the computer consultants contacted for a bid on county government’s network. AQM is the information technology provider for Warren County, Lietzow noted. It was the provider for Franklin County until that county’s commission opted to go with a lower bid offered by another company.

“One of the first things that needs to be done is a needs assessment,” Lietzow said.

In other matters at last week’s session, it was noted that the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department effective April 1 will be moving its inmates from the Crawford County Jail to the Franklin County Jail in Union. Franklin is charging Gasconade the same rate that Crawford charges — about $50 a day — but having them housed in Union saves Gasconade County taxpayers money spent on transporting a person from Steelville to Hermann for a hearing and then back to Steelville, county officials said.

“It will save us some drive time,” said Schulte.

There already is one Gasconade County inmate being housed in Franklin County, Kenneth Lee Simpson, who is accused of capital murder in the March 12 shooting death of Hermann Det. Sgt. Mason Griffith and the wounding of Hermann patrolman Adam Sullentrup. Simpson was transferred to Franklin County several weeks ago and is scheduled to be in that county’s jail until his trial in 2026.