2008 Annual Report - Information and Technology Committee

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i -,.-~- Y ~' ~,/ Information and Technology Committee 2008 Annual Report South Bend Common Council Date: December 2, 2008 To: The South Bend Common Council The Office of the City Clerk From: 5~' District Council Member David Varner, Chairperson Information and Technology Committee I am submitting the following Annual Report of the activities of the Council's Information and Technology Committee which is a requirement of § 2-10 (i) of the South Bend Municipal Code. Duties: The Information and Technology Committee is charged with "overseeing the various activities of the City's Division of Information Technologies in the Department of Administration & Finance so that the City of South Bend remains competitive and on the cutting edge of developments in this area. Reviewing and proposing upgrades to computer systems and web sites, developing availability & access to GIS data and related tchnotogies are just some of its many activities" pursuant to § 2-10 (i) (6) of the South Bend Municipal Code. Members: There were four (4) Council Members on this Committee, namely: Tom LaFountain who is the Vice-Chairperson, Karen L. White, Henry Davis, Jr., and myself. Meetings: There have been two (2) committee meetings held to date, however some of the Committee members along with Council President Rouse, Council Member Dieter, and myself made an on-site visit to a local company to see first hand the latest in meeting room technology. Activities: The Information and Technology Committee continued to work closely with Public Works Director Gary Gilot on requests for proposals (RFPs) to assure that the regular meetings of the South Bend Common Council would be tapped and aired. DVD and web page compressed videos of the Council meetings resulted, which may be accessed 24/7 from the Council's web page. As a result of much research and discussion, the Common Council earmarked $28,000 for technology upgrades to the Council Chamber and the Council's Informal Meeting Room which will take place in 2009. Recommendations for 2009: If I continue to Chair the Information and Technology Committee in the new year, I would recommend that we focus upon: