09-22-04 Informal Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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INFORMAL MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL South Bend,Indiana 46601 The September 22, 2004 Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council was called to order at 4:03 p.m. by Council President Karen L. White in the Council Informal Meeting Room, pursuant to the Informal Meeting Notice dated September 15, 2004 (copy attached). Persons in attendance included Council Members Varner, Kuspa, Dieter, Pnzzello and White; Mayor Stephen J. Luecke, City Controller Frederick B. 011ett III,Director of Information Technologies Bob Allen,PC Specialist Brent Cummins and Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand, Council Attorney. Council President White noted that Informal Meetings are usually held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month with the City Administration. In light of the budget hearings, this month's Informal. Meeting was forced to be held on the 4th Wednesday. She noted that the purpose of today's meeting is to receive an update on the City's website. City Controller Frederick B. 011ett HE noted that the City Administration's update would focus on four(4) areas, namely: background information and costs, a laptop presentation which each department has already seen, an update on the questionnaire completed by the Council approximately 18 months ago, and the next steps. Mr. 011ett stated that the current website was developed by the IT staff at night and on their own time. The Administration is reviewing quality-control mechanisms currently. Last Spring the City hired Crowe Chisek for their expertise. Director of Information Technologies Bob Allen and PC Specialist Brent Cummins then reviewed a one-page handout entitled "Outsourced Web Design and Hosting" (copy attached). They noted that the average cost to create a page was $250. Costs have averaged $180,000 to create three (3) pages for each department. They then reviewed the advantages of having the website in-house vs. being outsourced focusing on the integration of existing and future software including such items as Groupwise Web Access, Novell NetStorage, Click2Gov, LaserFisch Document Management, Graphical Information System (GIS), etc. Each department would be able to update their own material, develop an approval process for such material and create information. Discussion then took place on security issues. The cost of a web server is $5,000. Click2Gov would provide access to such items as utility bills. It would take about 1/2 hour to learn how to update material for a department's website. All department heads have had meetings on this. Council President White suggested that Dr. Vamer's Information and Technology Committee should meet to discuss who would be able to update the Council's site and the individuals who would be able to approve materials. A 2d handout entitled"Common Council Questionnaire"(2 pages)was then provided to the Committee(copy attached),which summarized items which were part of the original Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council September 22,2004--Page 1