AGENDA #9
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
Bob Avery, Information Technology Department Director |
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SUBJECT: |
Contracted computer support services to facilitate technology services at the Town Operations Center |
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DATE: |
April 18, 2007 |
The purpose of this report is to request funding in the FY 2007-2008 Budget for contracted computer support services to provide technology support for the Town Operations Center.
The Town Operations Center was designed as a campus environment from the standpoint of technology services. Although Public Works and Transportation Departments have separate work sites, the voice, data, and video services are provided and serviced through a central computer facility housed in the Public Works Administration Building. This facility includes an equipment room that supports the networking services, telephony services, database servers, and security systems for the entire site. Also included is an office and work area adjacent to the equipment room that supports up to two technical services personnel.
The capabilities built into the Town Operation Center computer equipment facilities include backup power and air conditioning to ensure continuity of data and voice services. Communication circuits have also been established between the site and Town Hall to enable these two sites to take advantage of voice and data equipment redundancy which further enhances continuity of operations in the event of weather or equipment related problems. This also creates a new capability to establish a data systems disaster recovery plan that can be accomplished through online data replication between the two sites.
We expect that over time the new facilities and systems installed will provide very reliable and low maintenance services for the Town. To gain this benefit we will need to establish good technical service support for the site. This includes the presence of Information Technology Department staff members on a full-time or part-time basis.
Current Information Technology Department staffing does not allow full-time presence on the site. Although the site represents about one-quarter of the computer systems within the Town, we have to date consolidated our computer support services at Town Hall. This is, in part, because sites such as the Public Works and Transportation facilities have not provided work space for the Information Technology Department. With the increase in distance from Town Hall to the work site, the lack of a dedicated vehicle for the Information Technology Department will add to the support concerns.
Several solutions have been considered ranging from doing everything remotely to hiring an additional staff member to be assigned full time to the site. Because the site is just becoming operational, there is limited information to determine the optimal choice. The solution recommended for FY 2007-2008 is to supplement desktop computer support through a service contract for the next year. This will reduce demands on staff for routine desktop support and allow staff time to train on and maintain the new equipment at the Town Operations Center. By budget time next year, we will have sufficient information with which to determine whether an additional permanent employee is needed.
The Town has made a considerable investment in technology that has been integrated into the Town Operations Center site. Providing adequate staff time to implement the operational and maintenance processes for site equipment will ensure we derive the long-term benefits of the site design.
The budget request of $46,250 is based on the cost of commercial services that are available from local companies specializing in support services.
That the Council include $46,250 in the FY 2007-2008 budget to support contracted computer support services to enable the Information Technology Department to provide responsive information systems support at the Town Operation Center.