IT Strategic Plan Final 2013.10.22
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................ 4
1.1 City Profile ....................................................................... 4
1.2 Background ..................................................................... 4
1.3 Project Purpose and Benefits ........................................ 5
2 Approach ................................................................................. 8
3 Current Environment ........................................................... 10
4 Assessment ......................................................................... 12
4.1 Assessment Activities .................................................. 12
4.2 Findings and Recommendations ................................ 13
5 Roadmap ............................................................................. 22
5.1 ITSP Enablers ............................................................... 22
5.2 Projects ........................................................................ 26
6 Conclusion ........................................................................... 42
NexLevel Information
Technology, Inc. assisted
the City of Pismo Beach in
the development of this IT
Strategic Plan.
The Plan is intended to be
used as a roadmap to help
ensure information
technology effectively
supports the City’s current
and future needs.
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1 Introduction
1.1 City Profile
Pismo Beach is a beachfront
community located on the
Central Coast along six miles
of the Pacific Ocean in San
Luis Obispo County. The City
encompasses approximately
3.6 square miles, with a
significant amount of
recreational beach area
available to residents and
visitors. Pismo Beach is
primarily a residential and
tourist community, with a base population of approximately
7,700 residents and a peak-season population of more than
30,000.
Pismo Beach was first incorporated in 1939, then
disincorporated the following year due to concerns over the
possibility of increased taxes. Reincorporation as a general law
City occurred in 1946. The City Council is made up of five
members: the Mayor is elected to a two year term, and the
remaining four City Council members serve four-year staggered
terms with two members elected every two years. The City
operates under a council-manager form of government. The
City Council appoints the City Manager, City Attorney and City
Clerk.
The City of Pismo Beach has 94 authorized full-time equivalent
employees and delivers municipal services through five
departments: City Clerk; Administrative Services; Public Works;
Community Development; and Police. Fire services are
provided through a contract with the California Department of
Forestry and Fire (CALFIRE).
1.2 Background
Pismo Beach has a history of being fiscally conservative. In
recent years, when the economy deteriorated, the City reduced
costs in ways that avoided major service impacts to residents
and businesses. Today, the City is experiencing overall
economic stability and advancement due to the improving
economic climate and the City’s active tourism industry. Given
this outlook, the City continues with the budget goals of
maintaining the levels of service currently provided to
residents, reducing expenses wherever practical, meeting
employee obligations and maintaining adequate general fund
reserves.
At the same time, technology in general has been progressing
at breakneck speed, and citizens have become more
technology savvy, expecting increased and more efficient
services through the use of technology. Technology has the
potential to improve citizen and tourist access to services,
increase staff productivity, extend availability of services
beyond the normal business hours, and provide more
transparency regarding operations.
As a part of the 2014-2015 budget, the Pismo Beach City
Council established a set of City Council Goals and Priorities.
Included in these were three technology related objectives:
Acquire and install 21st century
technology in the Police
Department
Pismo Beach’s Vision:
Provide a safe place;
maintain its small beach
town character; manage
growth effectively; and
enhance a vibrant tourist-
based economy, while
becoming a world-renowned
tourist destination.
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Move to paperless agendas
incorporating best practices from
elsewhere
Acquire and install 21st century
financial management software
Establishment of these goals reflects the City Council’s desire
to move Pismo Beach forward in terms of technology leverage.
With the City Council’s leadership in prioritizing technology
initiatives, along with City management’s desire to maximize
the use of technology to increase efficiency and service to the
community, the City of Pismo Beach selected NexLevel
Information Technology, Inc. (NexLevel) to assist in the
development of an Information Technology Strategic Plan
(ITSP). NexLevel is a Technology Management Consulting
company that specializes in helping California local
governments plan for and implement technology. This
document presents the resulting IT Strategic Plan.
1.3 Project Purpose and Benefits
Over time, local governments typically struggle to keep up with
technology demands. Technology needs and reliance often
exceed what can be delivered by the supporting IT
organization’s resources and capabilities.
As shown in Figure 1, the IT Strategic Plan provides a roadmap
that will help Pismo Beach close the gap between current and
future technology needs compared to available resources.
Figure 1 – Technology Gap
For Pismo Beach, the ITSP addresses the key technology issues
facing the City, describes the technology projects necessary to
address the issues, as well as the IT organizational changes
and hardware lifecycle management approach that will provide
for the successful technology operation for the next three to
five years. The ITSP also includes a project timeline, which
addresses project priorities by fiscal year budget cycles.
Implementation of the ITSP will provide the City with the
following bottom-line benefits:
Improved public safety delivery
Improved business operations
Improved customer service
Increased staff productivity
Improved succession planning
Improved technology project decision making
It is recommended that Pismo Beach make annual updates to
the ITSP. By evaluating progress, while also revisiting goals
and objectives, annual updates help identify any adjustments
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necessary to keep Pismo Beach focused on the best technology
outcomes for its residents and businesses.
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2 Approach
The ITSP development process
was a City-wide effort involving
City staff from every
department. It focused on
identifying both the City’s
current and future technology
challenges and needs.
A goal of the planning process
is to identify a “business driver” for each technology need. To
support prioritization and planning, it is important that the
business impact of any proposed project is well defined,
because ultimately the return on the investment in technology
is defined in business terms.
The information gathered during the planning process, along
with research regarding how other cities are addressing
technology needs, was used to identify specific technology
projects. In developing the ITSP, NexLevel provided expertise
regarding best practices and industry standards.
Figure 2 identifies the major tasks and general timing of the
activities performed to develop the ITSP.
Figure 2 – Project Activities Timeline
At a summary level, the major activities included:
Initiate - development of project materials and
conducting a kickoff meeting.
Analyze - administration of a user satisfaction survey;
interviews with City management and staff; tours of City
facilities; review of existing documentation; and
development of a comprehensive IT Assessment report.
Strategize – compilation of a technology project listing
from information coming out of the user satisfaction
survey and department interviews; development of a
prioritized project timeline resulting from the Project
Prioritization Workshop; and completion of draft and
final ITSP documents.
The use of a structured
planning approach and
methodology encouraged
participation and buy-in
from all stakeholders.
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3 Current Environment
A reliable and high performing
technology infrastructure is critical
to obtaining the maximum benefits
from business and operations
technologies (e.g. finance, payroll,
permitting, document
management, etc.).
Responsibility for management of
the City’s technology infrastructure
and applications resides with the
Administrative Services Director.
The Director is responsible for
management and oversight of all IT related activities.
The City contracts with a local vendor, TechXpress, for
hardware support, help desk services, and data
communications management. Under the agreement with
TechXpress, additional services can be requested when
needed. While TechXpress participates in software
installations and provides a limited role in version upgrades,
users in City departments generally manage the
implementation of new technology, provide on-going
application administration, and coordinate software version
upgrades.
The City contracts for application support from the various
software vendors. The departments contact the vendors when
support is needed. The departments also coordinate
application administration (i.e. adding new users) and the
installation of release upgrades.
The City’s IT support resources are limited to the services
provided by TechXpress and the technology knowledge of staff
in the various departments. These limited resources present a
challenge to the organization today, and will increase when
new technology is procured to support the City’s goals of
increasing efficiency and providing additional services to the
community. The challenges presently facing the City in the
absence of a coordinated strategy for information technology
include:
Inability to readily leverage technical assets and
knowledge across Departments.
Inability to readily scale the environment to take
advantage of bulk license purchases, upgrades, and
other features.
Incurring additional costs for activities such as business
continuity planning, disaster recovery, and application
security.
Inability to accurately and easily calculate the City’s
return on investment and total cost of ownership for its
IT related assets and activities.
The City supports approximately 150 full and part time
technology users. Support hours are Monday through Friday
from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, with on-call service available after
hours. The IT support (including the Administrative Services
Department and TechXpress) scope of services includes:
Hardware support and deployment (desktops, laptops,
printers, servers, etc.)
Communications (voice and voice mail, wide area
network, local area network, wireless network access,
internet, network security)
Help Desk services
The City Council’s
commitment to
technology
enhancements provides
the driver to build upon
to realize the full
benefits technology has
to offer.
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Website oversight, including integration with outside
vendors
Broadcasting of City Council and other public meetings
Limited support of City-issued cell phones and pagers
In addition to the technology services provided through the
Administrative Services Department and TechXpress, the City
also relies on vendor hosted and supported software
applications via the Internet (referred to as “cloud” or Software
as a Service (SaaS) applications).
Additionally, the City relies on third party service providers to
support certain software applications.
Table 1 identifies the City’s core applications, the department
that “owns” the application, and the vendor responsible for
maintenance support.
Table 1 – Core Application Support Responsibilities
Application Application Owner Maintenance Support Vendor
Finance / Payroll / Utility Billing Administrative Services Harris Wintegrate
Document Management City Clerk Laserfiche
Agenda Management, Streaming
Video
City Clerk Granicus
City Website City Clerk Civic Plus
Communications Tracking Software
Customer Relationship Management
City Clerk Comcate
Permitting Community Development CitizenServe
Recreation Registration and
Facility Scheduling
Community Development -
Recreation
Active Net
Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and
Records Management System (RMS)
Police EIS
Geographic Information Systems
(GIS)
Public Works ESRI
ARC GIS
Work Order System Public Works iWorks
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4 Assessment
In order to help the City
maximize its investment in
technology and provide the
highest level of service to its
customers, it is first necessary
to assess the current state of
the City’s technology
operations. To complete the
assessment, NexLevel used
the processes and data
identified in Section 4.1 below.
NexLevel then compared this information against research
regarding how other municipalities address technology needs,
and against a series of operational best practices that
represent the typical roles and responsibilities for a municipal
technology service delivery organization including:
Technology Governance - The leadership, reporting
structure, management overview, method of
communicating with stakeholders, and consistent
tracking of technology services that ensure end-user
business needs and requirements are met.
Service Delivery - The function of coordinating the
processes involved in providing robust customer
technology support including training, helpdesk, and
service delivery management.
Business Technology – The business and operational
software applications supporting City departments.
Infrastructure - The data center, hardware/equipment,
storage area network (SAN), server virtualization,
operating systems, support software, and
communications network services used within the City
to provide technology services to end users.
Security - The effective application of policies and
standards, user conduct, software tools (filtering,
monitoring, etc.), and audits to validate that the City’s
material and software resources are used only for their
intended purposes.
Administration – The management of the technology in
terms of budgets, maintenance agreements, and
software licenses.
Documentation – The development and maintenance of
current and accurate documentation of all technology
activities such that processes can be completed in the
absence of any one individual while promoting cross
training, enabling backup and recovery, and reducing
the risk of change.
The resulting IT Assessment report provided a high-level view of
each best practice area (dimension), as a weakness in any one
area can adversely impact the overall effectiveness of the
organization. To achieve best practices for technology
management, an organization needs to perform strongly in all
dimensions.
4.1 Assessment Activities
The Assessment included the following activities:
Interview with City Manager Jim Lewis
Interview with Director of Administrative Services Nadia
Feeser
Interviews with more than 30 City staff
A comprehensive
understanding of how an
organization uses
technology to support its
business provides the
foundation upon which to
plan.
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Web-based user satisfaction survey distributed to 150
City staff and responded to by 51 staff
Tour of the offices of the City’s IT services provider,
TechXpress, and interview with the City’s primary
representative from TechXpress
Tour of the City’s data centers
Review of technology related documentation (e.g.
budget, policies, procedures, etc.)
Review of results from the IT survey the City conducted
in December 2012
Follow up interviews and queries with the Administrative
Services Director and Tech Xpress to resolve or clarify
issues
Compilation of information regarding technology
practices in similar organizations
Research and analysis of findings
Project prioritization workshop attended by executive
management staff
4.2 Findings and Recommendations
NexLevel evaluated the City’s use and management of
technology and plotted performance, by best practice area, on
a diagram as presented in Figure 3. The diagram identifies
areas requiring focus, as well as areas that are performing at or
near best practice levels (as indicated by green).
In order to evaluate each best practice area, NexLevel used
information gathered from a user satisfaction survey,
department interviews, review of documentation, and site
tours. The results were representative of the feedback and
findings obtained during the department interviews. NexLevel
evaluated all information compiled to arrive at the best practice
ratings, and accompanying recommendations, as presented in
the following pages.
Figure 3 - Assessment Dimension Summary Results
The following sections (4.2.1 – 4.2.7) provide information on
each of the 7 dimensions illustrated in Figure 4.
4.2.1 Technology Governance
The City’s technology governance includes informal and formal
processes associated with the daily IT operations and the City’s
strategic planning activities related to technology. NexLevel
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observed that the IT function is challenged to keep up with
existing demands, and is not adequately staffed to meet the
growing department technology needs. The City’s overall
technology governance would benefit from a more formal
steering committee structure with active participation from
department directors on a regular basis. NexLevel provides the
following recommendations:
Add a City IT position to proactively direct and manage
the City’s technology service providers and provide City-
wide oversight for all IT activities.
Continue to utilize outsourced support services for help
desk, desktop support, and 24/7 network monitoring.
As new technology is introduced, allocate the necessary
budget to ensure support resources are available.
Consider partnering with neighboring jurisdictions for
the provision of IT support and / or specialized IT
services.
Establish a Technology Steering Committee to oversee
the City’s technology strategic direction and ensure that
IT resources remain aligned with the City’s priorities.
Provide dedicated project management for technology
projects.
4.2.2 Service Delivery
The City’s present technology support agreements are
sufficient to support day-to-day customer support operations.
However, these agreements do not sufficiently address macro-
level items such as disaster recovery and business continuity.
As with virtually any technology environment, there are
opportunities to improve the level of support provided and to
respond to unmet support requirements as well as new
requirements that may be identified in the future.
The City has been proactive in maximizing the value of the
technology services it receives through sourcing support
services; however, in the absence of centralized IT direction
and support, it is likely that some proportion of staff resources
in City departments are being used for IT support services.
The performance of IT duties by individuals in non-IT classified
positions is often referred to as “hidden” or “shadow” IT
spending and this typically results in:
A proliferation of ad-hoc applications, databases, and
spreadsheets that are non-standard and
undocumented, creating islands of information that
cannot be readily shared.
Potential business continuity and disaster recovery
risks, along with IT systems that are seldom properly
secured against unauthorized access, disclosure, and
modification.
The use of resources on projects that may be
departmental priorities, but that are less critical from a
City-wide perspective.
Increased risk of disruption in City operations and
increased total cost of ownership.
NexLevel is recommending the City take the following actions to
ensure that it continues to receive the services and service
levels it requires:
Review and document the scope of services that
TechXpress provides the City. For those services that
TechXpress does not provide to the City, identify
alternate resources for the provision of those services
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including additional service contracts, expansion of
existing service contracts and/or partnering with
neighboring jurisdictions for service delivery. It should
be noted that many of these service delivery gaps may
be addressed with the addition of an IT management
position to the City’s workforce.
Implement a process whereby TechXpress provides
monthly statistical reports on all help desk tickets.
Utilizing help desk reporting, identify the most common
concerns of users in order to address those concerns
organization-wide.
Survey City staff regarding specific IT training needs to
establish a formal training schedule.
Identify specialized training needs that TechXpress
cannot provide (i.e. Wintegrate), and contact the
technology vendor to provide this training.
As a part of all future technology implementations,
ensure that training is a key component, and budget for
refresher training by the technology vendor.
Note that the implementation of a formal technology
governance structure will also help improve service delivery as
it will help quickly identify and ensure focus on timely resolution
of service delivery issues.
4.2.3 Business Technology
The effective selection, implementation, and management of
department software applications is critical toward attaining a
high level of staff productivity, cost-effective service delivery,
efficient business processes, and a return on the City’s
technology investment. The sum of the City’s applications is
called the Application Portfolio.
The City’s Application Portfolio supporting the City’s business
and operational functions are providing the features and
functionality consistent with similar size municipalities.
However, it should be noted that some software applications
are nearing the end of their useful life, while others such as the
Wintegrate financial system are past their useful life. In
addition, there are several business and operational functions
that are currently not leveraging applications or are relying on
internally developed software that does not provide the
functionality that is needed.
To help evaluate the effectiveness of Pismo Beach’s
Application Portfolio, NexLevel plotted core applications on a
chart where the vertical axis represented “Application
Capabilities” (i.e. features and functionality) and the horizontal
axis represented “User Effectiveness” (i.e. how effectively is
staff at leveraging the application). The following figure plots
Pismo Beach’s current application effectiveness.
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Figure 4 – Business Technology Effectiveness Diagram
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Since the applications are critical to the City’s ongoing success,
NexLevel provides the following recommendations:
Comcate - Citizen / business requests for services
Establish City-wide policies and processes for
responding to citizen requests, and ensure that all
departments adhere to the policy.
Active Net - Recreation class registration
Continue to remain current with software releases and
look to take advantage of new features and functions as
they become available.
Active Net - Facility reservations software
Dedicate the necessary resources to implement this
module and fully train staff.
Laserfiche - Document Management software
Establish and enforce a City-wide standard for indexing
documents. As time permits, examine the existing
repository of documents in Laserfiche for re-indexing.
Granicus – Agenda Management and Streaming Video
Review the connectivity and performance of the Council
Chambers local area network to determine if Granicus
issues are related to the network. If network issues are
not identified, Granicus should be alerted to resolve
issues.
ESRI Geographic Information System (GIS)
Acquire an interactive GIS viewer to provide simple
access to all City departments and the public. Consider
providing a resource to load and maintain information in
the GIS so that it is fully functional for all City
departments.
Civic Plus - Website Application
Procure and install the most current version of Civic
Plus, and arrange for training for City staff.
CitizenServe - Permitting & inspection system
Replace the CitizenServe application with a full feature
permitting system that includes, among other items,
electronic application and plans submittals, electronic
workflow, and a public portal for citizen access to the
status of pending projects.
iWorks - Public Works Work Order System
Procure a full feature work order system that can
integrate labor information from payroll, vehicle and
equipment, and other pertinent data into one system, so
that the City can capture the true cost of its work order
responses.
Harris Wintegrate – Financial system
Replace the Wintegrate financial system with a full
feature financial system including payroll, human
resources, and utility billing modules.
EIS - Police Records Management System
Elevate City’s concerns with the vendor and with the
other system users in the County. Hold meetings
between EIS and all users in the County to outline the
issues and request a plan from the vendor for resolution
of the issues. On a regular basis, communicate the
status of the issues resolution to all affected Police
staff.
Section 5 of the IT Strategic Plan identifies projects to address
the above recommendations.
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4.2.4 Infrastructure
While the majority of the City’s technology infrastructure is
performing well, during staff interviews and in responses to the
user survey, some staff indicated they are not satisfied with the
network performance or the inability to work from remote
facilities. NexLevel provides the following recommendations:
Expand the Wide Area Network (WAN) to all City facilities
where network access is needed.
Reconfigure the network with Virtual Local Area
Networks (VLANs) to improve communication speed.
Implement procedures to monitor Internet capacity.
Provide Department Directors with monthly Internet
usage reports.
Implement an Intranet and establish City-wide protocols
for loading and managing the information contained on
it.
Implement virtual server technology to replace existing
servers.
Establish a server refreshment schedule.
Replace existing routers with equipment that improves
the ability to proactively monitor and manage the
network performance.
Implement a switch management protocol to help
maximize network speed.
Publish a technology refreshment policy and budget that
supports the policy.
Install standardized versions of Microsoft on all
desktops, and standardized versions of other popularly
used applications (i.e. Adobe).
Utilize CISCOM to periodically survey City staff regarding
items such as hardware and software needs and
compatibility issues.
Publish a Remote Access policy with guidance from the
Technology Steering Committee.
Monitor mobile computing devices (i.e. smartphones,
tablets, etc.) and implement standards, training, and
support as necessary to allow staff to leverage mobile
technologies to improve service delivery.
Evaluate the mobile computing features and functions
of current and future business applications to take full
advantage of mobile computing.
Implement security procedures, policies, and tools for
the use of mobile computing devices, and to ensure
mobile devices can be “wiped” clean if lost or stolen.
Make necessary modifications to the City Hall data
center to protect equipment and eliminate unauthorized
access.
If feasible, modify the overhead fire sprinklers in the
Police Department data center.
4.2.5 Security
The City has recently implemented security policies and
practices that appear to be performing well. However, in
today’s world, municipalities are prone to malicious attacks,
and as such, NexLevel makes the following recommendations:
Perform an annual network penetration test.
Secure the data center in City Hall (see Infrastructure
recommendation).
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Implement email encryption to protect confidential
information.
Implement a process to restrict unauthorized access to
user devices.
Consider establishing a limited number of designated
representatives who have desktop administrative rights.
Ensure that TechXpress responds immediately to all
requests asking for assistance for the installation of
software and/or equipment that require administrator
privileges.
Implement more robust data backup protocols after the
completion of a security assessment and disaster
recovery / business continuity plan.
Create and publish a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).
During development of a Business Continuity Plan,
include in the BCP a process to ensure the EOC has
access to key systems in the event of an activation.
Establish a procedure to periodically install patches on
the EOC laptops.
Centralize log files to prevent overwriting.
4.2.6 Administration
Overall, the City has been adequately managing the
administrative aspects of its technology operations. At present,
the City dedicates approximately 2.43% of its general fund
budget toward IT, which is below the typical resource allocation
of between 3% and 5%. The City’s IT operation would be better
served with the dedication of additional funding toward IT along
with continued focus on administration of budgets,
maintenance agreements, and software licensing to ensure
effective operations. NexLevel makes the following
recommendations:
Establish a management level IT position (see
Technology Governance recommendation).
Review the current processes and procedures in place
that enable the Finance division to capture and report
on the full cost to provide information services to the
City.
Establish a dedicated internal service fund for
technology related activities.
Centralize all IT purchases in the Administrative Services
Department budget.
Require that all major technology procurements are
reviewed by the Technology Steering Committee.
City-wide, review all maintenance agreements annually
to confirm the agreements provide the appropriate level
of service.
Create a centralized repository for all technology
maintenance contracts and review annually to ensure
they align with the City needs.
Implement a centralized license management role
(which should include department applications) in the
Administrative Services Department.
4.2.7 Documentation
Best practice organizations maintain current, accurate, and
comprehensive documentation on all activities such that
processes can be completed in the absence of any one
individual. NexLevel makes the following recommendations:
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Regularly review technical documentation for all aspects
of the City’s day-to-day IT operation to ensure the
documentation is kept current and is retained in a
centralized location.
Engage the Computer Information Steering Committee
(CISCOM) and / or the Technology Steering Committee
in the review of all existing IT policies to obtain input on
potential gaps or shortcomings. Develop and publish
new policies as needed.
Distribute policies to staff and require signatures during
annual performance evaluations to acknowledge receipt
of the policies.
Establish processes whereby the Administrative
Services Department monitors compliance with
established policies and the Technology Steering
Committee acts as the enforcement mechanism of the
policies.
4.2.8 Summary
The City performs effectively in many of the assessment
dimensions. However, as shown by the recommendations,
there are still opportunities for improvement and, as a result of
constantly changing technology and user needs, the City must
continue to evolve technology management and support
activities to ensure a secure, reliable, and robust technology
environment.
It is important to note that some of the recommendations
presented are incorporated into the IT Strategic Plan as
projects, while others should be addressed at an IT
management level. The latter, considered “non-strategic
project recommendations,” will be addressed by staff over
time. Some will be implemented quickly, while others may take
significant planning, hardware/software purchases, and
additional personnel resources to execute.
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5 Roadmap
The IT Strategic Plan focuses on
the identification and definition
of strategic projects and
provides the opportunity to
carefully consider each project’s
relative priority to maximize the
value the City receives from the
utilization of limited technology
resources. An industry research
firm reported that:
“Creating the right mix of
investments to properly use
limited resources while providing the maximum business
benefit is the ultimate challenge for IT leaders…balancing
resources, technology, business needs, and changing
situations while simultaneously maximizing returns and
minimizing risk.”1
Organizations with limited IT resources, such as the City of
Pismo Beach, must be able to:
Select and prioritize IT investments by identifying
strategic projects that provide the greatest value.
Establish performance indicators, monitor the status of
each strategic project, and reallocate resources as
needed.
Modify plans and priorities based on changes in
requirements (such as mandates), changes in
resources, and changes in technology.
1 Best Practices, Defining IT Portfolio Management, Forrester Research, 2004.
Within this context, a strategic project is one that has the
potential to provide benefits to the City and/or the citizens and
businesses it serves. A strategic project may:
Streamline existing processes or enable new
capabilities to improve service delivery.
Remediate or mitigate a serious risk to the City’s ability
to provide services and to meet public expectations.
Improve operational processes to allow staff to be more
productive, potentially reducing costs to meet budget
demands.
Improve public safety.
The City should look at the components of its information
technology environment (applications, hardware, etc.) as
infrastructure assets similar to buildings: all of them require
maintenance (some more urgently than others), some need
minor repairs, some need major renovations, and some need to
be replaced.
The primary focus of the IT Strategic Plan is to provide a
roadmap for the City that identifies the strategic projects that
will be implemented over the next three to five years and the
resources required to complete them.
5.1 ITSP Enablers
As discussed in the previous section, the IT Assessment
recommendations that are not deemed to be strategic projects
should be addressed by City management over time. However,
NexLevel believes there are several recommendations that are
critical to the overall success of the IT Strategic Plan and
referred to as Enablers. The key Enablers, as shown in Figure
5, include Governance, Infrastructure, Project Management,
Standards, and Organization. They form the foundation upon
The ITSP provides a
roadmap, as well as a call
to action, to take the
City’s technology from
where it is today to where
it needs to be to meet
business needs.
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
Page|23
which the plan is built and should be addressed as soon as
possible to provide the best chance for a successful ITSP.
Figure 5 – IT Strategic Plan Enablers
In the remainder of this section, we discuss the key Enablers.
5.1.1 Governance
Industry studies completed by respected research firms have
suggested that as high as 20% of all technology investment is
wasted each year. When you factor in the potential wasted
investment, along with the annual technology expenditure, the
importance of IT governance in managing and ensuring an
adequate return on investment is significant.
The City would enjoy significant benefits by implementing a
formal technology governance structure to oversee and guide
technology activities that are being performed at the staff level
and within other groups. A formal technology governance
structure would create an effective forum to plan,
communicate, manage, and coordinate technology projects
from an enterprise perspective.
The City should establish a Technology Steering Committee
whose members are comprised of department heads and
selected line staff from each department as needed. The
Technology Steering Committee will create an effective forum
to plan, communicate, manage, and coordinate technology
projects, as well as to ensure decisions about projects,
resources, and priorities are made with an enterprise-wide
view. The scope and responsibilities of the Technology Steering
Committee will include:
IT Strategic Plan – The Technology Steering Committee
will provide input to, and review of, the technology
project priorities and timelines.
Strategic Direction/Alignment – The Technology
Steering Committee will provide input and feedback
relative to each activity. This dialog will ensure
appropriate priority and efficient and effective use of
technology systems and services.
IT Operations Project Review – The Technology Steering
Committee will review IT projects for consistency and
compliance with the ITSP to ensure the City’s business
systems are supported by the existing platforms and
that they can be easily integrated, as needed, with other
City applications. This will be a collaborative effort to
ensure technology solutions are solving real business
needs and that the requirements of all impacted
departments are addressed.
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Policy Guidance – The Technology Steering Committee
will review technology policies and guidelines. The
Technology Steering Committee will approve these
policies, communicate them to staff and ensure City-
wide compliance.
Platform Usage – The Technology Steering Committee
will discuss how new technologies will be used and
provide input relative to performance metrics,
equipment utilization and hardware/software
acquisitions.
Technology Information – The Technology Steering
Committee will receive updates and status reports
relative to technology issues, information security and
evolving technology trends. Members will disseminate
this information, when appropriate, to their respective
staffs.
The Technology Steering Committee will oversee the City’s
technology strategic direction; thus it is important that
membership consist of department heads and selected line
staff as needed, and attendance and participation should not
be delegated to others with less authority. Those with limited
technical knowledge or experience may hesitate to participate
in technology governance. However, technology impacts the
delivery of business services, and participation in governance
by senior executives of the organization is needed for effective
service delivery to meet organizational needs.
5.1.2 Infrastructure
To ensure a reliable, robust, and secure technology
infrastructure, best practice encourages timely replacement
(refreshment) of technology infrastructure hardware and
equipment. Technology infrastructure includes all hardware
and equipment (from the desktop to the data center) that
ensures the City’s technology users are able to access software
applications. As technology infrastructure hardware ages, it
becomes less reliable, resulting in higher support costs and
increased staff disruption. In addition, as software applications
are upgraded or replaced, the new applications are generally
optimized to run on the most current hardware. Technology
infrastructure replacement cycles typically run three to five
years depending upon the hardware.
5.1.3 Project Management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing,
securing and managing resources to achieve specific goals.
Ineffective project management can result in extended
timelines, budget overrun, and project failure.
For each of the IT Strategic Plan projects that are initiated, the
City should assign a project manager who has the skill set and
authority to effectively perform the required project duties. The
project manager should be accountable to the project owner,
as well as the Technology Steering Committee for project
updates. For some of the projects outlined in the IT Strategic
Plan, the project manager may be a subject matter expert from
the using department; for other projects, management could be
provided by the IT management position being recommended
as a part of this report.
Technology projects should be executed following basic
standard project management methodologies, practices, and
templates. Prior to initiating a project, a formal project charter
should be completed to help ensure that the project is well
defined. A project charter authorizes a project and ensures
that necessary resources are provided to be successful. It is a
document that provides an understanding of the role and
responsibilities of all affected staff before the project starts. It
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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simply provides a common understanding of what the project is
about, why it is being done, who is involved, roles and
responsibilities, schedule and delivery approach.
Once a project is initiated, the City should have standardized
templates for the project manager to track and report on
project progress. At a minimum, the project manager should
complete the following tasks throughout the project.
Project Plan (inclusive of issues management, change
management, risk management, etc.)
Project Schedule
Budget Tracking
Project Status Reports
The use of a standardized project management framework will
help ensure a comprehensive understanding of projects among
stakeholders and impacted staff and help mitigate any risks to
the project.
5.1.4 Standards
Establishing City-wide technology standards provides the
following benefits:
Promotes consistency in common infrastructure
systems
Minimizes duplicative efforts among departments
Ensures or enhances continuity of ongoing technology
operations
Promotes efficiencies relating to ongoing support and
problem resolution
Promotes short or long-term cost savings or cost
avoidance
Streamlines the delivery of information or services by
promoting consistency in the handling, collection,
transport or storage of data information
Protects and secures the City’s technology infrastructure
and/or data
Increases productivity
Enables greater workforce mobility
Promotes ease in training new staff and support
succession planning
While standards may define or limit the tools, vendors, and
software that is implemented, the tradeoffs are generally well
worth it. Standards should be established, monitored and
enforced by the City’s technology governance structure.
General equipment standards include desktops, mobile devices
(i.e. PDAs, Smartphones, Tablets, etc.), network equipment,
data center servers, and printers. In addition, standards
should be maintained for desktop software environment (i.e.
versions of Office, Adobe, etc.) and database software (i.e. SQL,
Oracle, etc.).
5.1.5 Organization
Effective leverage and organization of the City’s technology
resources is critical to the successful implementation of the IT
Strategic Plan and in ensuring cost-effective ongoing support.
Currently, the City’s IT operation lacks adequate resources to
provide its customers with the level of service expected by the
organization. There is no City staff dedicated to providing the
type of specialized support necessary in public organizations,
particularly public safety departments. This structure
contributes to limiting the City’s ability to respond to and
resolve technology issues.
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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In addition, the organization is not placing an appropriate level
of focus on technology issues. Lack of a formal technology
governance structure is resulting in constantly changing
priorities and a lack of strategic technology direction.
The IT Assessment included the following recommendations
that would improve the City’s ability to support current and
future technology.
Add a position to the existing City staffing structure that
provides for a management level individual with
experience supporting IT in a municipality to oversee the
City’s technology related activities. This individual’s skill
set would require knowledge of infrastructure, data
communications, data center management and network
security. This position would be responsible for
overseeing the City’s overall IT needs rather than be
reactionary in a break/fix environment.
Continue to utilize outsourced support services for help
desk, desktop support, and 24/7 network monitoring
with oversight and direction provided by the newly
created IT position. Supplement the services provided
by the City’s IT resource to ensure coverage is available
when the IT resource is unavailable (i.e. vacation).
As new technology is introduced, carefully evaluate the
required technology support for both implementation
and ongoing support, and allocate the necessary budget
to ensure support resources are available. As the City
moves forward with the implementation of new
technology identified in the ITSP, demands for IT
operational support will increase. If the resource
requirements are temporary (i.e., project management
for new system implementation), then an effective
service approach is to use outside resources to
augment the City’s IT resources. This strategy will allow
the City to access resources with specific skills on an as-
needed basis.
Consider partnering with neighboring jurisdictions for
the provision of IT support and / or specialized IT
services such as public safety initiatives.
5.2 Projects
The technology planning process culminated in the
identification and prioritization of technology projects that will
help ensure the City’s technology environment supports current
and anticipated business needs. These projects span across
all departments and will improve services, operations, and/or
increase the security and reliability of the existing technology
environment.
Projects were prioritized based on criteria such as financial
impact, health and safety impact, customer service impact,
business operations impact, alignment to business vision and
mission, and technology obsolescence. In addition to these
criteria, the plan also considered the limited resources (both
human and capital) available to implement and manage
technology projects.
The IT Strategic Plan strives to set reasonable expectations as
to when the projects will be completed. However, a project’s
ultimate start date will be based on funding or budget approval.
It is the intent of the IT Strategic Plan to support the City’s
annual budgeting process by providing direction and input
necessary to justify expenditures.
The IT Strategic Plan does not include detailed specifications,
requirements, or recommended vendor solutions. When a
project is initiated, the Strategic Plan assumes City department
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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staff will follow traditional project planning and management
processes that would include detailed requirements analysis,
formal procurement and selection, and implementation
processes. With the rapid change in technology and vendor
solutions, City departments would be best served by carefully
evaluating the market solutions available at the time a project
is scheduled for procurement.
5.2.1 Project List by Department
Table 2 on the following pages lists each of the projects by
department.
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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Table 2 – Projects by Department
Administrative Services – Information Technology
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
IT Security Assessment /
IT Policy Development
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
The City should conduct a comprehensive security assessment utilizing a qualified IT security
consultant. At a minimum, the assessment should include network penetration testing, system
accessibility and protections, existing infrastructure configuration and physical security, and data
backup and storage protocols, and should provide a comprehensive report of findings and
recommendations. The recommendations contained in the assessment could then be utilized as a
starting point for the development of IT policies and procedures.
IT Disaster Recovery Plan
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
This project is to develop, test, and implement a disaster recovery plan to ensure the City's technology
infrastructure can respond to an adverse event according to the timeline needs identified by the
departments. The project will include completion of a business impact assessment to determine
recovery requirements by the departments, assessment of the options and cost to meet those
requirements, and the implementation of an IT disaster recovery plan to support established
requirements.
Server Needs
Assessment
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
The City currently utilizes several servers for data storage, management and backup. Some servers are
at end of life, others are at or near capacity. The City would benefit from a comprehensive assessment
of the current server environment with a resulting go-forward strategy that may include server
replacement, virtualization and / or a combination of solutions.
City Hall Computer Room
Assessment /
Improvements
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
The City Hall computer room requires several improvements in order to assure uninterrupted service
to internal and external customers, including a redundant cooling system, removal of non-IT related
items currently stored in the room, and securing the room from entry by other than IT personnel. This
project would evaluate and make recommendations for improvements to the City’s computer room.
Wide Area Network and
WIFI Connectivity
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
The ability to access systems while working remotely would increase staff effectiveness. The scope of
this project is to determine how the City’s network could be expanded. City WIFI would allow the
parking kiosks to connect without the use of solar powered cell phones, establish the framework to
add security cameras in additional locations, provide network access from the downtown parking
office, and establish the framework for providing mobile access for field crews. The scope of the
project would identify how a private wireless network could be established for use to support City
activities.
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Administrative Services – Information Technology (continued)
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Desktop Refreshment /
Public Counter PCs
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
The City has an informal PC refreshment policy (review of needs is completed during budget cycle);
however, several Departments reported slow PC performance and a policy that includes moving older
PCs to less critical positions in the organization. In addition, Departments expressed a need to provide
public access PCs at public counters. This project would identify the immediate needs related to PC
desktop replacement, along with identifying the number and placement for PCs at public counters.
Telephone System
Replacement
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
The current telephone system does not utilize functions and features available in new systems, such as
automated phone trees, forwarding and other features. A replacement telephone system would allow
the City to more fully automate processes. Desired features include automated call out to assist
departments (ie Utility Billing, Police, Public Works), and the ability to establish hotlines for incoming
callers to access important City information.
Intranet Implementation
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
An intranet is a tool to allow information to be shared internally (MOUs, forms, etc.). The intranet can
be a tool for collaborating on projects or documents. Currently, the City utilizes a shared network
folder to access and share data, which is cumbersome to navigate. Establishment of an intranet would
increase efficiencies in information sharing across Departments.
Facilities Cabling
Upgrade
Admin.
Services
Info.
Tech.
Currently, City facilities contain CAT 5 cabling. Technology demands going forward will place additional
demands on this infrastructure; thus an upgrade to CAT 6 cabling is recommended. This project would
identify a detailed plan for the replacement of cabling throughout all City facilities.
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Administrative Services - Finance
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Financial/Payroll/Human
Resources System
Replacement
Admin.
Services
Finance
Replacement of the existing Wintegrate finance and payroll system with commercial-off-the-shelf
(COTS) solution proven for municipalities. Project scope will include supporting Finance, Payroll, and
Human Resource business functions. Major functionality will likely include General Ledger, Project
Accounting, Budget, Contract Management, Fixed Assets, Grant Reporting, Accounts Payable, Accounts
Receivable, Purchasing, Payroll (with automated timesheet reporting), and Human Resources.
Significant features of the new system should include a robust workflow and self-service modules (i.e.
employee self-service, vendor self-service, etc.); and automated bank reconciliation. The new system
will likely include integration to Laserfiche document management. The project will include software,
hardware, interfaces, training, conversion, project management, and business process improvements.
City-wide Cashiering
System
Admin.
Services
Finance
City Departments accept payments for utility bills, permits, class registration, facility reservation,
citations, parking, etc. Balancing cash is completed using reports and Excel spreadsheets; then Finance
makes journal entries into the general ledger by account code. This project would procure a
cashiering module that automates balancing and posting cash, and integrates with the software
applications in use by individual departments.
NOTE: A cashiering module may be available in the system chosen to replace Wintegrate, or a
standalone system could interface with it.
Utility Billing System
Replacement
Admin.
Services
Finance
This project will replace the utility billing application, which is included in the Wintegrate system. The
application provides limited features and consequently requires manual processes. Activity reports are
created manually rather than system generated. Online payments are processed through a third party,
which requires the payment to be entered into the Utility Billing application rather than automatically
applied. Seven filing cabinets are filled with paper that must be maintained because information is not
available in the system. The Public Works Department would like to implement automated technology
to complete meter reading, but the Wintegrate utility billing module cannot support the interface. The
scope of this project is to identify a new vendor to support utility billing services. Preferably, this
would be the same vendor chosen to replace the Wintegrate Financial and Payroll system.
NOTE: Utility billing system needs may be addressed through the replacement of the existing
Wintegrate financial system.
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Administrative Services – Finance (continued)
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Business License System
Replacement
Admin.
Services
Finance
The Business License application is included in the Wintegrate financial application. Certain one-time
licenses are issued through the Community Development CitizenServe permitting system. Features of
a new Business License system could include the ability to identify unlicensed businesses, allow for
online payment acceptance, and provide workflow to route applications through City Departments for
compliance with land use requirements.
NOTE: A Business License module may be available in the suite of Financial, Payroll and Human
Resources applications, or in a replacement Permitting application.
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City Clerk
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Comcate – Installation
Review and User
Training
City
Clerk
The Comcate customer relationship manager (CRM) application allows the public to submit requests
for service through the City’s website. The application has many features that automate tracking the
status of requests. However, requests can be directed to the wrong person and some users need
training. The scope of this project is to review the application set up to ensure the City is receiving
maximum benefit, to document the policies, and to provide training for the users.
Website Refreshment City
Clerk
This project would refresh the City’s web site. Installed in 2007, staff reported it is difficult to direct
the public where to find information because the site is difficult to navigate. The vendor, Civic Plus,
has a more robust package available. Desired features include allowing departments to keep their
pages current, which would increase communication with the public, creating a foundation to allow
business to be performed on the web site, and providing the ability for use of social media through the
City’s website.
Agenda Management
System
City
Clerk
Departments email City Council agenda items and staff reports to the City Clerk. Community
Development is responsible for creating the agendas for the Planning Commission, Parks, Recreation
and Beautification and the Parking Advisory Committee. Agendas for the City Council and Planning
Commission are created in Granicus. Agendas are posted on the web site in the document center
(Civic Plus), Laserfiche (document management and the network share drive. The scope of this project
is to determine how agenda creation and archiving could be streamlined. This could include
investigating agenda management capabilities with the City’s Granicus and Laserfiche systems,
procurement of an agenda management application, additional user training for Granicus, or creating
procedures to limit the duplication of effort for agenda archiving.
Special Event Permitting
Application Software
City
Clerk
As a premiere location, the City frequently hosts special events. Many of the events require support
from the Departments (traffic control, additional trash receptacles and pickup, etc.). The City has
manual processes in place to support application processing and approvals. Efficiencies could be
gained from automating the process to increase information sharing and notification of responsibilities
between departments through automated workflow. The scope of this project would be to document
the requirements and identify possible solutions. Solutions should include full integration with other
City applications (ie Public Works work order system).
NOTE: Special Event Permits functionality may be available when the Permitting application is
replaced.
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City Clerk (continued)
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Laserfiche Document
Management
Improvements
City
Clerk
The City’s current Laserfiche document management system was implemented without a project plan.
As a result, the application contains scanned images, but the information is not searchable because
proper indexing was never established. In addition, boxes of documents were scanned by a third party
but the quality of the scanning was not reviewed. As a result, some two- sided documents were
scanned only on one side, some pages were crooked and one file may contain hundreds of pages that
should have been indexed separately. The scope of this project is to acquire services from a Laserfiche
consultant in order to obtain maximum value from the Laserfiche system. The services required
include establishing protocols for document scanning and indexing, OCR requirements, document
retention for each type of document, identifying needed application integration points (ie – Permitting,
Finance, GIS systems), and to provide user training and documentation. In addition, evaluation of the
existing stored images should be made to determine what changes could be made to the existing
scanned images to make the information searchable.
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Community Development
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Community Engagement
Software
Comm.
Dev.
The Community Development Department expressed an interest in acquiring an automated system to
help engage community members when pending projects are contemplated. Community engagement
applications provide electronic tools for public outreach, information gathering and sharing, and public
input into City decision making. Such a system could potentially be utilized in many different areas of
the City, including Police, Public Works and others.
Facility Reservations
System Implementation
Comm.
Dev.
A calendar in Microsoft Outlook is used to reserve City facilities (Veterans’ Halls and six rentable parks).
The City has the license for Active Network facility reservations but due to limited staff availability, the
application has not been implemented. The scope of this project is to implement the Facility
Reservations application in order to automate the manual processes. This will require implementation
assistance from Active Network and staff time for set up and user training.
Parking System
Assessment
Comm.
Dev.
The City has 12 parking kiosks in its downtown area. Digital Payment Technologies provides a digital
online office to manage the kiosks and provide reporting on revenue intake. The data download /
revenue reporting does not consistently operate properly, causing problems with reconciliation.
Phoenix provides citation issuance and processing with handheld devices; however the performance of
this equipment is lacking. This project would entail an evaluation of current systems in place for
management of the parking kiosks and citation issuance and processing, followed by recommendations
for improvements to the current systems or replacement of portions or all of the current systems. The
City should also consider ADA accessibility requirements when completing the parking system
evaluation.
Permitting and Code
Enforcement System
Replacement
Comm.
Dev.
and
Public
Works
The City currently utilizes CitizenServe, a hosted permitting application. The application lacks features
the Department would like to implement, including providing information on the website (i.e. plan
review status; inspection requests), electronic plans submittal ability, providing field staff with real
time access to view and update information (i.e. inspection results) and workflow tools to notify the
required plan reviewers and obtain their review comments. This project would identify a replacement
Permitting system that would provide the City with the features and functionality desired, including
features to support Code Enforcement and other activities currently managed manually.
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Community Development (continued)
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Geographic Information
System Improvements
Comm.
Dev.
and
Public
Works
The City currently utilizes the ESRI ArcMap application. An intern is in the process of updating the
application with changes to the water, sewer, storm drains and streets layers that were noted on
paper maps. GIS is a tool that can provide information to support decision making, i.e. identification
on a map of frequent calls for service, property ownership information for notifications within a 300 ft.
radius, link as built documents by clicking on a location on a map, etc. The scope of this project is to
acquire an interactive viewer to provide a simple way for staff and the public to access GIS data.
NOTE: GIS is supported by both Public Works and Community Development; thus this project is listed
in both departments.
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Police
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Computer Aided
Dispatch and Records
Management System
Improvements
Police The City participates in shared services for computer aided dispatch (CAD) and records management
(RMS) with the County and the cities of Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay, Atascadero and Paso
Robles. The vendor, Executive Information Services (EIS), provided a system that met the needs of the
department until the vendor completed an application upgrade. Since the upgrade, the quality of the
information and its value to the Department has decreased significantly. Previously, information
would flow from CAD to RMS (i.e. license plate, driver’s license numbers, etc.) but now there is no
CAD/RMS integration, resulting in the officers having to spend more time in the office duplicating data
entry. The vendor has not provided a training manual. Uniform crime reporting (UCR) statistics must
now be calculated manually. In addition to the performance issues, the quality of the vendor’s data
conversion to the upgraded system was poor. For example, running the same statistics multiple times
will result in different answers. The scope of this project is to determine the Department’s minimum
acceptable CAD/RMS system performance, develop a prioritized list of corrections needed to meet
minimum requirements, and require the vendor to provide a detailed plan for making the necessary
system corrections.
MDC Implementation Police This project is currently underway. The Department acquired six mobile data computers (MDCs) for
installation in Police vehicles. The project goal is to provide officers with automation while working in
the field. Currently, one MDC is installed, and connectivity to the desired applications is not available.
The scope of this project is to acquire services from an IT professional familiar with MDC
implementation and support to manage the project and/or guide TechXpress to perform the required
tasks.
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Public Works
Project Name Primary
Dept.
Project Description
Automated Meter
Reading System
Public
Works
The City currently contracts with a third party vendor for water meter reading services. The
Department would like to bring this function in house via the use of automated metering technology.
Computer Maintenance
Management System
Public
Works
CMMS software systems are intended to help maintenance workers complete daily tasks in a more
effective and efficient manner. Further CMMS software allows for organizations to be proactive in
maintaining the lifespan of their facilities, equipment and assets with the use of preventative
maintenance scheduling tools.
Laboratory Testing
Software System
Public
Works
The Department would like to explore software systems for the management of laboratory testing
results and other related activities.
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5.2.2 Timeline and Costs
To be successful, the IT Strategic Plan must establish a realistic
and achievable schedule as to when projects can be
completed. During the City’s Project Prioritization Workshop,
NexLevel facilitated a process that allowed Pismo Beach
management to actively participate in establishing the project
implementation sequence using a combination of needs, staff
resources, risk to the City, and budget.
For each project, NexLevel included a planning and evaluation
period, and it is during this time that City staff will define
detailed requirements, develop and release a request for
proposal (RFP), evaluate vendor solutions, complete the
procurement, and oversee the implementation. In addition,
several of the projects involve ongoing processes that will
follow after the implementation period, and these have been
identified as such.
It will be critical for the City to identify and quantify any
potential staffing or support requirements prior to
implementing each project. This includes identifying necessary
training of staff to ensure ongoing support of the technology
implemented. To implement projects without addressing
staffing requirements will jeopardize support and service levels.
The project timeline presented in the following tables provides
a clear roadmap for the City in terms of project planning and
budgeting. The information is provided in individual tables by
fiscal year, provides a cost range for each project, along with
the Planning and Implementation phases by quarter.
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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Table 3 – FY 13/14 Technology Projects
Low High Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
CAD / RMS Improvements - IN PROCESS $0 $10,000 Impl.Impl.
Mobile Data Computer Implementation - IN PROCESS $10,000 $25,000 Impl.Impl.
IT Secrurity Assessment & Policies $10,000 $25,000 Planning Impl.
Community Engagement Software $10,000 $10,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
IT Disaster Recovery Plan $5,000 $10,000 Impl.
Comcate Review and Training $0 $10,000 Impl.
Server Needs Assessment $0 $10,000 Impl.
City Hall Computer Room Improvements $25,000 $50,000 Impl.
Facility Reservation Implementation $0 $25,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Total Estimated Cost Range for FY 13/14 $60,000 $175,000
Projects Cost FY 14/15FY 13/14
Table 4 – FY 14/15 Technology Projects
Low High Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Financial / Payroll / HR Replacement $100,000 $200,000 Planning Impl.Impl.Impl.Impl.Impl.
Citywide Cashiering System $25,000 $50,000 Planning Impl.
Wide Area Network & WIFI Connectivity $50,000 $100,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Desktop Refreshment / Public Counter PCs $25,000 $50,000 Planning Impl.
Website Refreshment $25,000 $50,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Parking System Assessment $10,000 $25,000 Planning Impl.
Total Estimated Cost Range for FY 14/15 $235,000 $475,000
Projects Cost FY 14/15 FY 15/16
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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Table 5 – FY 15/16 Technology Projects
Low High Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Utility Billing Replacement $100,000 $200,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Agenda Management System $25,000 $50,000 Planning Impl.
Telephone System Replacement $50,000 $100,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Business License Replacement $50,000 $100,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Automated Meter Reading $100,000 $200,000 Planning Impl.Impl.Impl.Impl.
Total Estimated Cost Range for FY 15/16 $325,000 $650,000
Projects Cost FY 16/17FY 15/16
Table 6 – FY 16/17 Technology Projects
Low High Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Special Event Permitting Software $10,000 $25,000 Planning Impl.
Permitting & Code System Replacement $150,000 $200,000 Planning Impl.Impl.Impl.
Computer Maintenance Management System $50,000 $100,000 Planning Impl.Impl.Impl.
Laserfiche Improvements $10,000 $25,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Intranet Implementation $25,000 $50,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Total Estimated Cost Range for FY 16/17 $245,000 $400,000
FY 17/18ProjectsCostFY 16/17
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
Page|41
Table 7 – FY 17/18 Technology Projects
Future
Low High Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
GIS Improvements $10,000 $25,000 Planning Impl.Impl.
Laboratory Testing Software $10,000 $25,000 Planning Impl.
Facilities Cabling Upgrade $50,000 $100,000 Planning Impl.
Total Estimated Cost Range for FY 17/18 $70,000 $150,000
Estimated Cost for Entire Plan 935,000$ $1,850,000
FY 17/18ProjectsCost
October 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP)
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6 Conclusion
At its most basic level,
technology promises to reduce
the costs associated with
delivering services. At the next
level, when technology is fully
leveraged across an
organization, it has the potential
to significantly improve and
enhance service delivery.
Pismo Beach recognizes the
importance of leveraging
technology to meet the growing business and service delivery
needs in the most cost effective manner. The IT Strategic Plan
is a valuable tool to ensure technology is procured,
implemented, and managed in a cost-effective approach that
maximizes the benefits to the City and its customers.
The City has made progress by enhancing and improving its
existing technology environment. However, it is evident from
the number of projects in the IT Strategic Plan that the City
faces a significant challenge over the next three to five years to
implement and manage technology. As many organizations
have come to realize, the cost and risk of implementing
technology can be significant. The IT Strategic Plan recognizes
this and places a high level of importance on implementing a
formal technology governance process to help manage and
provide oversight to technology implementations.
The IT Strategic Plan is the result of a comprehensive, City-wide
planning effort that provided the opportunity for management
and staff to review, discuss, and integrate their technology
needs into a common framework. It provided a common
understanding of the City’s technology priorities, and served as
a tool to provide an overall picture of what is to be
accomplished and why.
Pismo Beach’s current technology environment represents a
complex system that consists of numerous applications and
infrastructure. As with any complex system, the addition or
modification of any component has the potential to impact
other parts of the system. The IT Strategic Plan includes
projects that are aimed at improving business applications,
technology infrastructure, and governance. As projects are
implemented, it will take careful coordination and planning to
manage the change introduced and to ensure the projects do
not adversely impact other components within the City’s
technology environment.
While the creation of the IT Strategic Plan represents the
culmination of only one step in the planning process, it also
marks the beginning of another step – one through which City
leaders must work together to create an environment that
supports the Plan. The City Council, City management, and
staff must work together closely as they begin the journey to
create an organizational sense of purpose that goes much
deeper than any vision statement, mission statement, or plan
can communicate.
The potential is significant, but so too are the challenges.
Pismo Beach has the opportunity to transform the organization
into an environment that has the information it needs to
function at peak performance, while it and its constituents are
well connected in a seamless, effective manner.
Pismo Beach’s IT
Strategic Plan is a tool for
the City to move forward
in both technology use
and improved service to
the community.