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APPROVED 2/5/2002 <br />MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />SPECIAL MEETING <br />November 26, 2001 <br />G:15 <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in <br />Hillsborough, North Carolina on Monday, November 26, 2001 at 6:15 p.m. for the purpose of holding <br />a work session. <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Stephen H. Halkiotis and Commissioners <br />Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Barry Jacobs <br />COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill <br />COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Jahn M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager <br />Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe All other staff members will be identified <br />appropriately below} <br />NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT <br />AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. <br />(1 ~,ganizational Assessment Phase 2 Information Technology SIT} <br />Review -Presentation from IT Review Consultant and Discussion <br />Kevin Fitzgerald, Center for Public Technology, said that this is a status report. He still <br />has other people to interview before writing his final report. His target is to have this report ready for <br />the County Commissioners' retreat in January. Kevin Fitzgerald made a powerpoint presentation. <br />He covered the purpose of the project, methodology and benchmarking. The final report will include <br />recommendations to improve the operation of Information Technology in Orange County. <br />Commissioner Brown asked that Kevin Fitzgerald interview members of the IT staff <br />along with members of the IT Committee, Department Heads, members of other Information <br />Technology staff and others who use the system. <br />In answer to another question Kevin Fitzgerald indicated he was not working with any <br />of the municipalities. However, the Institute of Government does have pertinent information from <br />other municipalities that he will use in his analysis. What he hopes is that he can develop some <br />methodology to da some comparisons. He talked about three sets of generic issues. The first <br />relates to software, hardware, network and architecture, the second is the business side and what it <br />supports and the third is management and what it supports. He noted that the IT budget is very <br />small. When looking at the services that technology supports, it is virtually everything. He is looking <br />at the County as an enterprise - not an individual department or application but as a whole and how <br />services are provided. The software applications have different ages; different staff, different <br />software and they all have to work together which is very difficult. In Orange County the Board of <br />County Commissioners made a decision to replace desktop computers every three years. When he <br />talks about network connections, he is talking about haw the information goes back and forth and <br />gets connected. It has to work in ways that are safe, reliable, and secure and in place when it is <br />needed. This includes the capacity of the County to provide services via applications, networks and <br />software. Architecture is setting out a game plan of what is the equipment, hardware and software <br />that will be supported. It is a plan for the future of how it can be done efficiently. The County is <br />looking at reworking some of their major business systems. When they look at the software, it will <br />be something that will fit with the mainframe and hardware in place. The state of North Carolina has <br />put in a very detailed architecture, which lays everything out. Very few Counties or municipalities <br />