December 21, 2023 |
Photo – “Password” image – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Medicine Bow town council has approved a plan to spend potentially thousands of dollars to recover the town’s lost computer passwords.
During the December 11th Medicine Bow town council meeting, Town Clerk Karen Heath asked the council to allow her to call a computer repair professional. Clerk Heath said she does not have the passwords to the computers at town hall and can easily be locked out.
Heath said the book containing the passwords disappeared following the resignation of former mayor Lucy Schofield.
Councilwoman Sharon Kahl said the town recently had an IT professional come in to service the computers. Councilwoman Kahl asked if the passwords had been reset at that time. Clerk Heath said if the passwords were reset, they were not written down in an easily located place.
Councilwoman Kristi Wickizer asked Heath how long the computer passwords have been missing. Councilwoman Wickizer was told the passwords were lost after Lucy Schofield resigned. Clerk Heath said neither she, nor her predecessors, have known the passwords to the town hall computers.
Mayor Justin George told Councilwoman Wickizer that the town has not been able to access the administrative settings on the town hall computers since Schofield resigned.
Councilwoman Wickizer asked Clerk Heath how much an IT person would cost. Heath said it cost $2,000 to set up the computers in the Marshal’s department. The town clerk said she expected the bill to be similar. Marshal Roger Hawks said the $2,000 expense paid to set up an entirely new system. Public Works Director Brian Lashley said the price should be less than half of that total.
Councilwoman Wickizer motioned to allow Clerk Heath to hire an IT consultant to reset the passwords at town hall. Councilwoman Kahl seconded and the motion passed.
After the vote, Medicine Bow resident Vicki Kelley told the council that former mayor Schofield may know the location of the missing password book.
Mayor George thanked Kelley for her suggestion and instructed Heath to call Schofield before contacting an IT professional.
Yesterday, Bigfoot99 called the Medicine Bow town hall and was informed that the book of passwords was still missing.
