Norfolk County Register Announces Closure of On-Site Technology Dept

DEDHAM, MA - Norfolk County Register of Deeds William O'Donnell announced Friday that there will no longer be an on-site information technology department as on July 1, as the department was consolidated by the Norfolk County Commissioners board.

"This final decision dates back to a 2-to-1 vote not to appoint a Registry [Chief Information Officer] to fill the position of a retiring Registry CIO made by Norfolk County Commissioners Peter Collins and Joe Shea nearly one year ago on June 30, 2021," he said in a statement. He called the vote "a poor decision in a line of questionable decisions made by the Norfolk County Commissioners."

O'Donnell has been advocating to keep the in-house, two-person department for several months in a series of resident emails and social media posts. He testified in December 2021 before the commisioners in sometimes heated exchanges about the findings of a report that called for the consolidation as a means of streamlining services.

Since its release in October, O'Donnell has contested the results of the Abrahams report, a year-long analysis of county departments that recommended the consolidation of his office's information technology department with that of Norfolk County.

"The Abrahams Group [report] was an effort by the county to consolidate as much as we can and to make the county as efficient as we can," said Collins, the commissioner from Milton, at the December 2021 meeting.

"I greatly appreciate the voices and efforts of so many attorneys, real estate brokers, assessors, trade organizations and just regular citizens who were concerned about the title to their homes in trying to keep the Registry IT Department as it has been for over 35 years," O'Donnell continued. "You have to accept decisions although I and my Registry senior staff are still trying to envision a plan that will not negatively impact Registry operations and services due to the elimination of on site direct report in the Registry budget Registry IT staff."

He added that he and senior staff "were prepared to and are prepared to accept the decision."

O'Donnell has argued for the need for an on-site information technology department due to the increased cybersecurity risk presented by hackers and ransomware.