HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnnual Report Information and Technology Committee2007 Annual Report of the Information and Technology
Committee of the South Bend Common Council
2007 South Bend Common Council
Date: December 7, 2007
To: The South Bend Common Council
The Office of the City Clerk
From: 5~' District Council Member David Varner, Chairperson
Information and Technology Committee
This Annual Report is filed as a requirement of Section 2-10 (i) of the South Bend Municipal Code
which calls for a report from the Chairperson of each of the Council's Standing Committee by the
2°d Monday in December.
Duties•
The Information and Technology Committee is chazged with the following duties pursuant to
Section 2-10 (i) (6) of the South Bend Municipal Code:
"Overseeing the various activities of the City's Division of
Information Technologies in the Department ofAdministration
and Finance so that the City of South bend remains competitive
and on the cutting edge of development in this area. Reviewing
and proposing upgrades to computer systems and web sites,
developing availability and access to GIS data and related
technologies are just some of its many activities "
2007 Committee Members:
The member of the Committee this year include Council Members Pfeifer who is the Committee's
Vice-Chairperson, Council Members Kelly and White as Committee members.
Meetings:
This year the Information and Technology Committee met twice, with several items being
addressed to continually upgrade the Council's website.
2007 Annual Report of the Information and Technology Committee
Page 2
2007 Upgrades and Challenges in 2008:
After the passing of 3ra District Council Member Roland Kelly, the Common Council's website was
immediately updated. The attached "Home Page" to the Council's website begins with Roland's
picture and our remembrance. The page also lists the various topics which can now be accessed.
These include information on:
• Each of the eleven (11) Standing Committees
• Regular and Special Common Council meeting agendas and minutes
• Council Brochures
• Councilmanic District information
• Information on each Council Member
• Council rules and procedures
Currently Jennifer Funkhouser in the Office of the City Clerk is developing a much needed data
base so that Council packet information may be accessed from the web. I am attaching information
from the "Document Search" pages which highlight the process. We are working to streamline this
process. Earlier this year I recommended that the City of Bloomington's Common Council website
be used for comparison purposes so that the Council's website would become more interactive,
more detailed with regard to information, and more user friendly.
As noted in last year's Information and Technology Annual Report timely retrieval of Council
documents need to be a top priority. With the ongoing document imaging project underway,
hopefully significant improvements in this area will soon be realized.
Many more upgrades are needed to the Council's website and this will continue to be a priority for
the Committee in the new year.
The last Information and Technology Committee meeting was held on October 22, 2007. The
discussions focused on the Comcast letter sent to the Mayor notifying him that the last broadcast of
Common Council meetings would be September 24, 2007. As a result of that meeting, the Board of
Public Works was authorized to take proposals so that the remainder of the 2007 Common Council
meetings would be broadcast. WNIT was awarded the contract and have covered the last three (3)
meetings of the 2007 calendar year. This topic will also be a top priority in 2008.
On behalf of the Committee I would again like to thank everyone for their assistance in making
many of the improvements a reality, and I look forward to continue to make needed upgrades.
R~ectfplly ~bm~ i~tted~
Council Member David Varner, Chairperson
Information and Technology Committee
South Bend Common Council
Attachments