GILROY
– According to a city-hired technology consultant, police
department staff spend roughly 24 hours a month collating time
sheets for entry into the city’s computer system.
GILROY – According to a city-hired technology consultant, police department staff spend roughly 24 hours a month collating time sheets for entry into the city’s computer system. At the fire department, staff may spend the equivalent of two to three days a month getting time sheets together for the computer.
The problem? The city’s software system lacks proper input fields for the unique and specialized work schedules of cops and firefighters.
Hoping to prevent such inefficiencies, City Council reviewed a new “Information Systems Strategic Plan” Monday night.
The solutions presented by systems analyst Tom Bohn of TMB Consulting were sometimes wordy, such as “implementing process automation systems to eliminate redundant data entry and reduce manual processes.” But recommendations generally stressed a more centralized approach rather than attacking problems in a piecemeal or isolated fashion that could create more headaches down the line.
“We’re trying to get back to a broad-brush approach,” said city Administrative Services Director Michael Dorn.
Bohn told Council the “core systems” associated with most of the city’s day-to-day work aren’t being used to their full capacity. Reasons include insufficient training, fragmented support, gaps in program functions and a lack of user-friendliness, he said. There are also lots of manual processes and redundancies, he said.
For example, a lack of centralized standards means individual departments often pursue different systems that aren’t always easily compatible. The city’s list of computer programs fills a single-spaced sheet of 8.5-by-11 sheet.
In the future, decisions on software and other systems could be run through an overarching internal city committee for consistency, Bohn said.
Another recommendation was to increase the number of tech support staff – including a director of information systems – so individual departments can focus all of their efforts on their core duties and services.
The information department could eventually have a staff of seven – over the 4.5 it has now – if officials follow all of the recommendations.
But Bohn said the amount of time other city employees spend on tech issues is the equivalent of three to four jobs. For example, an engineer sometimes spends most of the day assisting with a geographic information system, Bohn said. And a plan checker may spend similar amounts of time on such “over the cube” tech support rather than, well, checking plans.
“That’s not what they were hired for,” Bohn said.
The plan also recommends significantly increasing the use of Internet-based technologies, both internally and with citizens themselves. Residents of the city that is touted in glossy marketing brochures as “The Silicon Valley’s Next High-Tech Growth Center” could perhaps one day pay their water bill or submit a request for a stop sign via the Web.
“They would interact with city staff on a 24-7 basis, on a time frame that works for them,” said Bohn, who gave the city kudos for the work it has already put into its Internet site.
Although no specific cost-benefit analysis has been performed, officials expect following the plan will save money in the long run while enhancing its services, better accommodating growth and providing for easier contact with citizens, Dorn said.
“It will probably cost money in the beginning… but the payoff will be in the long term,” Dorn said.
So far, the city has already revamped hardware and software for its Intranet and is working on replacement for its finance software system. Officials will now work to prioritize the report’s other recommendations and determine a possible timeline based on the city’s budget situation.
“This will be somewhat dependent on what happens budgetarily,” warned City Manager Jay Baksa.
Mayor Tom Springer stressed the city should stay proactive about security, a concern that he said is often addressed after-the-fact. He also said the city should look to approaches used by other Silicon valley cities such as Sunnyvale and Mountain View.
To assemble the plan, Bohn inventoried existing computer systems and processes and interviewed 20 city officials across several departments.
