Minutes 10-25-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Foushee said that the problems with the past strategic plans is that she is not sure this Board has indicated what the technology priorities and needs are and what gaps exist and how to fill them. She said that with th� advances of technology, by the time the funding is in place, it may be obsolete. Commissioner Gordon asked how the strategic Information Technology Plan fits into an overall communications plan. The Information Technology portion is an important part of the comrnunications plan. Shannon Tufts said that you cannot be strategic in an IT Plan because `strategic' means you are thinking seven years out. The idea is to have an IT Operational Plan that only goes out three years. She hopes to start with goals and objectives and then apply the technology to it. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 2-3 and said that there should be a place to put in some initial thoughts about how the IT Plan could coordinate with the eventual communications plan. Shannon Tufts said that she could coordinate with Todd Jones and put it in. Commissioner Jacobs said that a fundamental difficulty in the past has been just a laundry list of things next to a lot of money. He said that he is interested in Information Technology Value Progression. He said that everything has been internally driven regarding IT. He said that there are huge frontiers that are not within the internal function of Orange County government that are within the interests of the Orange County Commissioners. Chair Pelissier asked if there has been public input about what is missing in terms of communication. Shannon Tufts agreed with engaging with the public. She suggested town hall meetings. She does not recommend a citizen advisory committee on IT. There can also be input electronically like via the website. Commissioner Yuhasz said that this is talking about two different things—an IT _ Strategic Plan for the County and an IT Strategic Plan for County government. He wants to address both of these. He said that the department heads are a vital part of the IT Plan for County government. Shannon Tufts said that Todd Jones has already done Information Technology assessments with all of the departments, and she would be glad to follow up with this with department heads. Commissioner Foushee made reference to working with department heads and said that the needs of those departments probably have changed since Todd Jones met with these departments. She suggested that someone do a follow-up. Commissioner McKee said that it is critical to do planning, but the implementation costs concern him. He asked about the costs for other communities. Shannon Tufts said that it would depend on how far behind the County is. She does not think that the County has to spend a huge amount of money, but she will benchmark and compare Orange County to other counties. She is thinking about the biggest bang for the buck. She said that she would provide estimates so that the County Commissioners could pick and choose. Commissioner Yuhasz asked about the timeframe for completion of this plan and Shannon Tufts said that she has had plans done within six months. She said that it is feasible to expect having a finalized plan by the end of February or mid-March. Chair Pelissier said that these types of issues will need to take place at work sessions and this may be a topic for the February retreat.