State of the Art IT for Small Cities

Tim Howell

City of Hutto

Agenda• Background• Quick Introduction• City of Hutto Overview• Key Areas of Focus• Alternative Funding• Alternative Solutions• 5 Free Tools• Further Education• Questions and Comments

Objectives1. Any organization can be a

technology innovator.

2. Technology does not have to be expensive.

3. Technology is an opportunity center, not a cost center.

Background/Accomplishments• Technology Consultant• City of Hutto

– Awards• TAGITM Project Excellence Award• Best of Texas Excellence in Project Delivery• Annual Creativity Award for Public Sector Website

– TAGITM Website Committee Chair– 2009 State of Texas Information

Technology Strategic Advisory Committee

– Toastmasters Club President

Quick Introduction• Who you are• Who you work for• What you do• Population/Size

City of Hutto Overview• Growth

– Fastest in the State from 2000 - 2008• 2000 Population – 1205• 2008 Popluation – 17,000+

– Staff• Approximately 80 Full Time Employees• IT Division Started in Fiscal Year 2007• Hired Second IT Employee 4-21-2008• Technology Committee

– IT Budget• 2007 - $98,080• 2008 – $286,931• 2009 – $219,700• 2010 – $191,056 (Estimated)

City of Hutto Overview• City Wide

– Thin Client’s and Terminal Services– Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Phones– Microsoft Enterprise Agreement– Centralized IT Infrastructure

City of Hutto Overview• Public Safety

– Hand Held Ticket Writers• Interfaces

– Court Application– Records Management System

– Police Car Access• Broadband Cards

– Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (TLETS) Integration

– Secure FTP

City of Hutto Overview• Web Services

– Improved City Website• User Friendly • Handheld Device Access• Submit Questions and Requests Online• Crime Tracking and Case Entry• Really Simple Syndication (RSS)• Utility and Ticket Payments• Calendar of Events• Notifications

– Newsletters– Job Postings

– Facebook– Twitter

City of Hutto Overview• Other Major Projects

– Automated Meter Reading– Serial Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

on City Water Towers

Key Areas of Focus• GOV 2.0

– Online Communications– Transparency– Real Time Information– Community Building

• Green Technology– Recyclable Material– Energy Efficiency

• Compliance– Records Retention– Discovery

• Mobility– Remote Workforce– Field Services

• Disaster Preparation - Backup and Recovery - Redundancy

• Organizational Effectiveness - Administration - Business Alignment - Process Improvement - Planning

Alternative Funding• Cost Avoidance

– Energy Efficiency– Process Improvement– Organizational Structure

• Beta Testing / Piloting– Sell your agency– Don’t be afraid to try

• Free and Cheap Solutions

Alternative Solutions• Open Source• Cloud Computing• Software as a Service• Out of the Main Stream• Shared Equipment• Collaboration

– Departmental– Other Agencies

• Don’t forget the ROI– Non-Departmental– Exciting vs. Effective– One size does not fit all

Alternative Solutions

Videos

Google Appshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJT3pagjd8s&feature=related

Cloud Computinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_DKNwK_ms 

Software as a Servicehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGUPSvswmY0

Culture• Creating a Culture of Innovation

– Seek Input• IdeaScale• Intranet or blog

– Recognition– Find Talent

• The Importance of IT Staff– Workplace Evaluation– Strategic Planning

• Generational Shift

Solution Showcase: Email• Standard

– Microsoft Exchange

• Cloud Computing– Hosted Microsoft Exchange

• Alternative Solution– Google Mail and App Sync

• Collaboration

– Kerio Mailserver

• Open Source– Scalix– Open-Xchange– OpenGroupware

• Collaboration

Solution Showcase: Office Suite• Standard

– Microsoft Office

• Alternative Solution– Google Docs

• Open Source– Open Office

Solution Showcase: Other Solutions• Website/Blogs

– Wordpress– Squarespace

• Mapping– Google Earth

• Hardware– Thin Clients– Netbook

• Phone System– Asterisk

• Video Streaming– UStream

• Project Management– Huddle– MindMeister

• Free Main Stream Sites– Youtube– Flickr– Facebook– Twitter

Hot Item: Social Networking• Social Media Stats

– Facebook – 200 million users, top 10 website– MySpace – 110 million users– LinkedIn – about 30 million users– Twitter – 54 million visits per month– YouTube – 70 million videos– Flickr – hosts over 2 billion images– Blogs – over 200 million

• Why Not?

5 Free Tools• Evernote

– http://www.evernote.com

• TweetDeck • http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta

• Alerts/Notifications– Google Alerts

• http://www.google.com/alerts

– Techrigy• www.techrigy.com/

• Slide Share – http://www.slideshare.net/

• Cam Studio– http://www.camstudio.org

Further Education• Government Technology Magazine

• Texas Association of Government Information Technology Managers

• Municipal Technology Podcast– Coming Soon…– Geared Towards City Administration– Email Notification

Questions and Comments

Thank You

Tim Howell

IT Analyst

City of Hutto

http://www.TimHowell.net