HomeMy Public PortalAboutInfo Sys Annual Report 011112What We Do
Operations
First, what are information systems,
any -way? For the City, information
systems are the places and ways that
we use, connect and protect records
or knowledge that are needed to
guide our city into the future.
Twenty-five years ago, information
systems meant filing cabinets, paper
records, and a few telephones. There
was no information systems
"department". Today we manage data
in terabyte-sized buckets (a thousand
billion units) which tend to grow expo-
nentially. A global, connected ocean
of computers, networks, mobile de-
vices and phone systems give us
many ways to achieve more for our
community, but we still have to weigh
the costs, benefits and risks of each
piece and make good decisions in the
public's interest.
City of McCall
Information Systems
2011 Annual Report
The department provides man-
agement of technologies sup-
porting City government. That
includes technical operations
and maintenance, security, plan-
ning, budgeting, purchasing and
policies for most departments.
Central management provides
the City with the best account-
ability, manageability and inte-
gration.
Specifically, we oversee com-
puter hardware, software, mes-
saging, phones, networks, exter-
nal service providers, power sys-
tems and help -desk support for
City staff. Our public -facing du-
ties include the City's web pres-
ence, support for the Public Li-
brary, and assistance with public
records and information.
Selected Statistics
1 4
City Email Transactions, per year
16,000,000 Messages
Phone System Call Volume, per year
129,000 Calls
Wired Network Installations
7,800 ft.
Fiber Optic Network Installations
9,600 ft.
City Website Visits
129,630
Help Desk Tickets Closed
355
Enterprise Data Capacity (and counting...)
35 Terabytes
Table of Contents
Strategic Objectives 1
A Performance Report 2
Our Finances 3
Looking Forward 4
Mission
Provide for the
confidentiality, integrity
and availability of
information resources for
City government and
stakeholders.
Help the City and its
citizens succeed through
appropriate technologies.
Recognize and satisfy the
information needs of
citizens and staff, within a
framework of value,
operational reliability and
sensible systems
integration.
Our objective is to
provide City government
with effective, reliable
ways to use and
communicate information.
1
Information Systems
A Performance Report
Selected Programs & Services
i
2011 Accomplishments
• Server modernization
• Energy conservation
• New campus fiber link
• Upgraded networks
• New e-mail systems
• New operating systems
Upgraded wide -area networks extend
core information services city-wide
New servers save power and space
How We Have Progressed
It's been a year of major projects, expanded capabilities and learning
how to leverage newer technologies for the organization.
The City has facilities and staff spread over approximately 10 square
miles and 2011 brought a major evolution to our wide -area network by
bringing those facilities within a core managed network, with full com-
puter and digital phone capabilities.
An underground fiber optic trunk (a capital improvement project) now
connects the Public Works offices to the core City network at multi -
gigabit speeds. Upgraded wireless technology has meant an 80 -fold
increase in network speed and better reliability to our outlying offices.
The City web presence made a large leap forward this year, from a 12 -
year -old website design to a completely new, standards -compliant site
that allows staff to access and update their own material. As we learn
and adapt to the new design, as well as receiving feedback from us-
ers, the features and usability continue to change and expand.
New mail server software and hardware took the place of an old sys-
tem that was at its limit. It gives us new tools that integrate with re-
cords retention policies that help make our lives a bit easier.
Featured: New Server Technology Adds Value
Starting in 2010, we began a server upgrade project, culminating in
2011, with three main objectives in mind. First, to consolidate our hard-
ware for space efficiency, energy conservation and reduced waste
heat. Second, to use virtualization (software emulation of hardware
environments) with appropriate hardware platforms to do more work
with less hardware, and dramatically improve manageability. Third,
improve reliability and disaster recovery options with standardized
hardware and the flexibility that virtualization brings. Server moderni-
zation has included retirement of all five older discrete servers, and full
transition to a modular server architecture that may eventually host as
many as several dozen "virtual" servers on just two physical platforms.
Benefits include energy conservation, heat control, reliability and man-
ageability.
This year we dramatically added to our server resources, thanks to a
Police Department project funded primarily by a Department of Justice
grant.
2
Our Finances
Fiscal Yea► 2011
Information Systems
1%
5%
1% 7%
3%
13%
7%
Revenue by So
63%
.1rce
General Fund
$156,094
Public Works & Streets Fund
$17,544
Library Fund
$32,976
Recreation Fund
$7,644
Airport Fund
$2,568
Golf Fund
$2,568
Water Fund
$18,288
Sewer Fund
$11,028
Total Inter -Fund Transfer
$92,616
Total of Revenues
$248,710
7%
2%
10%
14%
6%
14%
Expense by Cat
45%
cu'JIy
Personnel
Salaries & Wages
$112,692
Benefits & Insurance
$34,182
Total Personnel
$146,874
Operations
Hardware
$34,116
Software
$25,276
Website
$4,315
Services
$16,775
Repairs
$1,652
Supplies & Equipment
$3,957
Total Operations
$86,091
Capital Projects
$15,745
Total Information Systems
$248,710
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Information Systems
We want to
hear from you!
David Simmonds
Information Systems Manager
(208) 634-8998
dsimmonds@mccall.id.us
www.mccall.id.us
Lindley Kirkpatrick, AICP
City Manager
(208) 634-1003
City of McCall
216 East Park St
McCall, ID 83638
Ikirkpatrick@mccall.id.us
www.mccall.id.us
Digital phone system designed and
managed in-house
Information Systems Department
216 East Park St
McCall, ID 83638
Looking Forward
What's Next: Projects & Challenges
Overview
The rapidly changing nature of information technology presents some unique
challenges for long-term planning. That said, we plan out -year projects and
transitions to a prudent extent. Capital technology projects require conserva-
tive, thoughtful analysis and planning, so resources are not prematurely com-
mitted where the needs and solutions are subject to short term change.
Projects
1. Continue, with staff, to refine the new web platform to meet departmental
missions and objectives. Add or improve features for successful, effective
public communications.
2. Plan and implement new server and desktop virtualization projects to
save money and energy, and improve manageability. Virtualization allows
more work to be done with fewer physical computers.
3. Implement and support technology projects, such as video surveillance
and mobile networking, for the Police Department and others, as budget
dollars or grant funding opportunities become available.
4. Replace obsolete computers for City staff in all departments. Computer
hardware is designed around a 3 -year working life, so are scheduled to
be replaced every 3-4 years to maintain reliability and compatibility.
5. Improve systems reliability, resilience and disaster preparedness by dis-
tributing data and assets to multiple secure locations across City offices.
6. Review a deferred FY12 capital project to extend the wide -area campus
fiber optic network between City Hall and the Airport / Recreation Depart-
ment offices. Refine fiber route, cost estimates, and timeline for future
construction.
7. Continue wide -area campus networking (WAN) with the best combination
of fiber optic and wireless infrastructure. See table, below.
FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16
Fiber WAN link, airport - $40,000
WAN link & relay tower $73,000
Fiber / wireless WAN $25,000 $25,000
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