Sonoma County Seal
Dan Fruchey, a veteran technology manager with 25 years of experience using data and communications tools to help county agencies deliver public services, has been named director of the Sonoma County Department of Information Systems following a nationwide recruitment search.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote to confirm his appointment for a three-year term at its Aug. 30 meeting.
A resident of Windsor, Fruchey has worked for the county Information Systems department since 1997. For the past seven months, he has served as the department’s interim director, developing its work plan and budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year while directing the county’s conversion to cloud-based office suite technologies.
“Dan has played a central role in building the competency and customer-focused culture of the Information Systems department,” said James Gore, chair of the board of supervisors. “In his new position, Dan will lead our efforts to adopt cost-effective technology solutions that make government more efficient.”
The Sonoma County Department of Information Systems has 116 employees and a budget of $59.6 million. Its five divisions coordinate and support technology used by 28 county departments, agencies and special districts and their 4,181 full-time employees to deliver public services.
Fruchey joined the department as an information technology analyst and was promoted six times over the next 25 years, becoming the department’s assistant director in 2020. He was named interim director last January following the retirement of John Hartwig, who led the department for a decade.
“Government must adapt to the needs of an online and mobile world at every level,” Fruchey said. “I am excited to be entrusted with this important mission as we work to improve the county’s responsiveness and transparency, protect against privacy and security risks and ensure consistent service delivery.”
In the coming year, Fruchey will oversee initiatives to improve the county’s capability to work remotely and deliver services from alternative locations during emergencies; reduce the use of paper records and increase the use of electronic web-based forms; and expand cybersecurity protections and backup systems for the county’s enterprise resources.
Fruchey has two associate degrees in computer science and English from Santa Rosa Junior College and a technology executive credential from the California State Association of Counties’ Executive Academy.
His salary as director will be set at $212,490 annually.
