ELLSWORTH – When it comes to computer expertise, Hancock County’s loss is the city’s gain.

Doug Ashmore, the county’s former computer systems specialist, began work Dec. 6 for Ellsworth as its technology systems administrator.

Ellsworth created the position earlier this year to help maintain the city’s computer and electronic office equipment and, more important, to help the city plan for its technological needs, City Manager Stephen Gunty said last week.

“We wanted someone who would take the bull by the horns and set us up for the future,” Gunty said. “We’ve kind of commissioned him to do exactly that.”

Ashmore’s first duties are to help “put out fires” in terms of computer problems, including solving some printing problems and improving the accessibility of some city computers to the Internet, according to the city manager. Improving the city’s phone system, operating and managing its cable access television channels, and increasing the amount of city services available on the Internet will be among Ashmore’s other tasks, he said.

The new administrator also will work closely with the local school department in order to establish consistency among all the city’s departments with computer equipment and protocols, Gunty said. Ashmore will be available to the school department, and the schools’ technology personnel will be available to City Hall, to help broaden the city’s base of computer expertise and resources, he said.

Ashmore said last week that, with his new post, he has 40 computer terminals to assess, maintain and, if needed, upgrade. He sold his private computer business, Complete PC, which he started and ran out of his Blue Hill home.

“I’m real excited,” he said. “I’ve been working 60, 70 hours a week for the past two years.”

Ashmore said the city has several pieces of outdated computer equipment that likely will have to be replaced soon, before he can develop a long-term upgrade-and-maintenance plan for Ellsworth.

“It’s going to hurt at first, but it will be beneficial in the end,” he said of getting new equipment. “The goal of every systems administrator person is that they can stop getting [phone] calls at night.”

Ashmore’s starting annual salary with the city is $36,000 and will increase to $38,000 at the end of a six-month probationary period, according to Gunty. In the spring of 2006, Ashmore’s salary will be determined by a fair market value analysis, the city manager said.

Ashmore left his old job as Hancock County’s computer systems specialist at the beginning of 2002 when, at the advice of its budget advisory committee, the $36,000 position was eliminated from the county budget as a cost-saving measure.

Since then, the county has experienced increasing computer problems, including insufficient security and a lack of standardization.

Last month, county officials met with computer experts who said that the county likely would get more cost-effective and consistent computer help with an in-house position than it would by hiring an outside contractor.

The county now is looking for a computer consulting firm that can assess the county’s computer equipment and help it draft a list of needed upgrades and maintenance services, according to county officials.