Members of the City of Great Bend’s information technology committee weighed carefully the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a full-time information technology manager for the city against contracting with an outside party to handle the important task. In the end, the committee – consisting of City Council members Cory Urban, Jolene Biggs and Andrew Erb, city administrators and department heads, and community IT professionals Ryan Axman from USD 428 and Charles Perkins from Barton Community College – recommended creating a new city position over a third-party firm. The full council agreed, unanimously in favor of the proposal Monday night.