Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/84916
Sarasota News Leader September 28, 2012 event." When Jorgensen began looking for backup copies on the city servers, he found additional problems. "In order to determine if the emails were irrevocably deleted from the City of Sarasota email Microsoft Exchange System, it was required of Sylint to review the Exchange System email, capture, retention process and backup process," the report says. During the review, several problems arose that led to the departure of the city's IT di- rector. Sylint's report says there was a lack "of anyone in the Information Technology Department to accurately and completely explain the Exchange email system and how it functioned ..." Among other prob- lems, the report says, were a failure to up- date the software ("in Page 9 records request because they have access to the public record," he said. It may be difficult to determine who ran these searches because "bogus System Administra- tor Access Accounts had been set up which allowed access to both the City Network and the City Police Department Network," the re- port says. I have no idea how someone could get access to the police system. Former Sarasota City Manager Bob Bartolotta some cases, for over three to four years"), fail- ing backups and the use of outdated software. WHO WAS SEARCHING FOR WHOM? Jorgenson says "100's of email searches, open ended, [were] run by certain members of the IT department, that were not instigated by a Public Records Request." He indicates the searches "were run on certain senior people of the Auditor and Clerk's Office, certain [City] Commissioners and other individuals associ- ated with potential investigations of high-pro- file matters." Bartolotta says such searches by city employ- ees happen all the time, as they look for ref- erence materials or updates on old issues, for example. "Staff doesn't need to make a public This particular paragraph will raise hackles on Adams Lane, the site of the Sarasota Police Department HQ: Bartolotta urged the consol- idation of the city's and Police Department's computer systems, but he was rebuffed by police officials, who demanded a total separation of the two computer operations. Sylint's note that anon- ymous city employees have access to police computers will raise eyebrows. "The two systems are in the same building but separated by locked doors," said Bartolotta. "I have no idea how someone could get access to the police system." Jorgensen will report the results of the bogus system administrator searches "were placed on certain city employee and official's com- puters through flash memory devices and CD/ DVDs. These email scans were open-ended and contained 'exempt' information involved in ongoing internal audits by the City Auditor and Clerk's Office, [Housing and Urban De- velopment] investigations and other exempt information and was not for distribution out- side of those directly involved in the investi- gations."