HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-14-16 Information and TechnologyINFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY MARCH 14, 2016 5:25 P.M.
Committee Members Present: Tim Scott, Gavin Ferlic, Karen White
Committee Members Absent: Dr. David Varner (Excused)
Other Council Present: Oliver Davis, Regina Williams- Preston, Randy Kelly,
John Voorde
Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Jennifer Coffman, Alkeyna Aldridge,
Joseph Molnar, Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand,
Adriana Rodriguez, Santiago Garces, Dan O'Connor.
James Mueller
Agenda:
Kick -Off Meeting
Chairperson Tim Scott called the meeting to order with one item on the agenda. He stated that he
wants to have a bigger conversation with the City's IT Department (represented at the meeting
by Santiago Garces and Dan O'Conner) in a couple of weeks. He sent them a list of ideas and
and initiatives he would like to see done in 2016. One of the biggest things is electronic filing
giving people the ability to electronically file zoning, bills, maps etc. One of the big issues to
look at legally is electronic signatures for the documents that they are filing and using date
stamps.
City Clerk Kareemah Fowler stated the Clerk's Office does have an electronic signature for each
councilmember that can be used on documents with the councilmember's authorization. The real
question is figuring out the legality of using the electronic signature for more legal documents.
Chairperson Tim Scott said they would be willing to set up an Ipad training session for the
councilmembers like they have done in the past. He also stated he would like IT to come and
report to the Council where the City is going with allowing residents to go online and
communicate with the City electronically.
Councilmember Karen White stated it would be interesting to look at other second class cities to
look at what they do using technology to enhance communication and transparency. Also, she
said it would be nice to see any options to plug our Ipads up at the desk during the Council
meetings so that we could use them for the really late meetings because some days we use those
Ipads almost all day on Council meeting days.
Adriana Rodriguez stated she has been working the Joseph Molnar going through the Council
website page by page and updating and refreshing most of the pages for better usability for the
residents. Some of that work has already been done and then work with IT for the bigger
changes.
Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand asked what the timeline is for taking the IT Department from
Administration and Finance and making it its own department because that will take an official
ordinance.
James Mueller responded it will probably be part of the budget process.
Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston asked about how the meetings are broadcasted to the
public.
City Clerk Kareemah Fowler responded all the meetings are on Channel 99 Public Access with
AT &T and Comcast. The meetings also go on the City Clerk's YouTube page within forty -eight
(48) hours of the meeting so they are available to watch by everyone for free.
Chairperson Tim Scott said that would be something to look into because many people do not
have cable and they only do an hour before they cut it off. YouTube has the entire meeting which
is nice.
Joseph Molnar stated that it plays for two (2) hours on Channel 99 not one (1) hour
Chairperson Tim Scott responded great and we will keep the ball moving going forward because
there are certainly ways that we can get even better at giving residents access to the meetings.
Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston asked about the OneVoice system that came up last
year because it would be great to get some accurate feedback from specific parts of the City and
from the City as a whole on certain issues such as the smoking ban. That doesn't mean it would
be a straight democratic vote but a way to better inform us of residents' opinions.
Councilmember Karen White stated that goes back to best practices of what some other cities do
to look at if there are useful tools out there the City is not using currently.
Chairperson Tim Scott stated all the Councilmembers are administrators of the Council
Facebook site as well.
Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated last year at a Notre Dame competition he saw a pretty
innovative app /website that is being used in beta form by a few cities now that may be worth
looking into because it was not very expensive.
Chairperson Tim Scott did say it is always important to remember a lot of these different systems
have been hacked and that is something to look out for.
Santiago Garces, offices on the 12th Floor of the County -City Building, stated as the Chief
Innovation Officer for the City he is open and really excited to work with the Council this year
and making sure technology enables both the residents and the employees of the City in their
lives.
Dan O'Conner, offices on the 12th Floor of the County -City Building Chief Technology Officer,
thanked the Council for inviting him to the meeting and he is excited as well to collaborate going
forward to better South Bend.
Chairperson Tim Scott stated he would get with IT to work with the Ipads to make sure we are
using them to their best ability because it is a very helpful and time saving tool when you are
dealing with documents of a couple hundred pages.
Alkeyna Aldridge added she is happy to help any of the Councilmembers to navigate the Ipad
and use the new bookmarks and links the City Clerk's Office added to the agenda because it is
no longer just a block of pages but you can navigate it very quickly and easily.
With no, further business before the Committee, Chairperson Tim Scott adjourned the meeting at
5:43 p.m.
,:ectfespectfully Sub itted,
Tim Scott, irperson