Frequent email outages and loss of messages have plagued Woodstock town government. The ability to communicate, even internally, has been impaired.
Conspiracy theories from government watchdogs abound.
These outages, which have also affected the town website, have gone on for at least several weeks, coming to a head lately when previous and archived emails have disappeared.
One town board member said she can send and receive emails, but all her prior emails are gone.
Planning board members have begun using alternate email accounts.
When those critical of the current administration file a Freedom of Information request asking for email communications on a particular topic, which are, with some exceptions, public record, they have been told there is a problem accessing them.
This has fueled speculation of cover-ups.
But the emails are legitimately broken, it seems.
Supervisor Bill McKenna said it’s been a nightmare. Internet provider Spectrum, Red Hook-based IT company Professional Computer Associates, and website and email provider Digital Towpath have all been pointing fingers at each other.
Digital Towpath, an IT cooperative of municipal governments, finally revealed a server had crashed, and other towns affected. They say the previous emails will be restored, but it will take time.
McKenna said PCA recommended the town switch to Microsoft Office 365 for its email service, but that service costs $8 per month per email account. Digital Towpath provides an unlimited number of email accounts for each municipality for a fixed cost.
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