Huntsville ITS Director signs off
Published on February 28, 2025
The man tasked with keeping the City of Huntsville’s technology infrastructure secure and up-to-date is signing off. Bill Steiner, Director of Information Technology Services (ITS) retired at the end of February after 18 years of service.
Bill led a team of 40 employees who managed the City’s local area networks and servers, including hardware and software purchases. His team maintained and repaired computers, managed the telecommunications network and provided ongoing tech training for City employees.
“Bill developed a great team in ITS to capably serve the vast needs of our departments and citizens,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “He was ahead of the game on cyber security and worked to ensure City systems run safely, smoothly and that data is protected. We are grateful for his leadership and service.”
Born in Mobile, Steiner’s professional career began in 1981 in the U.S. Air Force, where he served 24 years as a technician, supervisor and medic. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer-related information, resources and security. In 2006, he joined the City’s ITS department in 2006 as a computer programmer and instructor. It was the right fit and Steiner quickly moved up the ranks to become ITS Director in 2013.
What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment(s) during your tenure at ITS, both as an employee and as Director?
“I think my department’s greatest accomplishment since I took the helm was the overall upgrade we’ve brought to the City. We’ve really modernized the hardware, software and many of the technological processes across the City and while I may be a bit biased, I feel we are the best municipal IT department in the state and one of the top in the southeast! As an employee, I’ve been able to connect a lot of different groups on the local, state and national level. With the Administration’s support, I’ve been a part of a number of outside agencies including Cyber Huntsville, GeoHuntsville, the FBIs Infragard, local college advisory boards, Redstone Arsenal Integrated Project Team, Cyber Summit planning board and other various organizations.”
What are you most proud of in your department?
The thing that I am most proud of would be the team we have built in ITS. We have a group of talented, top-notch employees that want to be here. They want to work for the City and serve the public. They are problem solvers and take pride in their work. I believe over the last 10 years we have changed the city’s attitude toward ITS and most of the departments bring us into projects early and understand what we bring to the table.
What are the greatest challenges you faced during your tenure?
I am fortunate to have a Mayor and City Council that understands the cyber threats faced by our country and specifically local governments across the country. They’ve made sure we had the resources to monitor and combat these ever-evolving threats. The cyber threat is real and as we’ve all seen in the news, it can quickly bring a city to its knees. This is probably the issue that keeps several of us awake at night.
What are your hopes for the City’s future tech operations?
I’ve always encouraged my employees to keep learning and growing in their chosen field. That would still be my message even as I am walking out the door. Take pride and always strive to be the best at whatever you do. I’m confident the Administration will select a highly qualified replacement for me and this individual will continue to enhance the technology across the City.
What are your retirement plans?“That’s the beauty of retirement; ‘Anything I want’, with my wife, Alice’s, permission of course! The top item on my list is to establish a healthy lifestyle and diet. That’s something difficult to do working full time. I have a long list of home improvement/repair items but will definitely make time to get back out on the golf course.”
The City of Huntsville thanks Steiner for his service to our City and to our country and wishes him all the happy pleasures of a well-deserved retirement.