How VC3 Helped the Pauma Valley Community Services District

Managing IT and cybersecurity at a special district can overwhelm leadership—especially with limited resources and numerous responsibilities. For the Pauma Valley Community Services District, this burden fell heavily on General Manager Eric Steinlicht. But with the help of VC3, the California Special Districts Association’s (CSDA) endorsed IT service provider, the district found a way to offload its IT tasks, enhance its cybersecurity, and refocus on its core mission instead of worrying about technology issues.

Eric Steinlicht, General Manager, Pauma Valley Community Services District

“At the Pauma Valley Community Services District, we didn’t have enough staff who could afford the time to do IT- and cybersecurity-related tasks. As General Manager, I ended up doing most of the IT work even when I didn’t have time for it. It felt suffocating, especially considering all the duties for which I’m responsible. However, the cost of having our own IT technician on payroll was too expensive, especially for a small district.

“As a result, I reached out to CSDA's cybersecurity and technology services partner, VC3, for help with these challenges. With VC3, we now have a dedicated helpdesk and ticket system available for our staff when they have an IT issue. To resolve an issue, VC3 can remotely connect to an employee’s computer or schedule a day to come out. I now feel like I have the support I need. Our staff has a place to resolve IT issues—and they no longer need to call me. I can focus on more important areas of my role instead of trying to connect a computer to a printer, for instance.

“Additionally, VC3’s customer service is incredible, professional, and tries to be solution-oriented. I like that VC3 sends out quality assurance emails after solving a ticket. That's a great internal tool for VC3 to make sure that the quality of their service continuously improves, and gives me peace of mind that our feedback matters.

“More foundationally, during the onboarding process VC3 pointed out many items that needed attention. We needed to get our special district up to standard IT best practices for government agencies—and VC3 addressed those items. As the relationship has progressed, I noticed and appreciated VC3 schedules and conducts regular meetings with us to go over current items and talk about areas that need attention.”

Eric’s experience is a powerful reminder that special districts don’t have to go it alone. With the right IT partner, even the most resource-constrained special districts can achieve technology stability, security, and peace of mind. VC3’s proactive IT and cybersecurity support has made a significant impact at the Pauma Valley Community Services District—and they are now better equipped and empowered to serve their community.