Subject: Authorization for Further Due Diligence Efforts Regarding e-Government
COUNCIL DISTRICT: City-Wide
SNI AREA: N/A
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Accept this report, which is a synopsis of the status report presented at the October 10, 2001 Finance and Infrastructure Committee meeting and reported out at the October 23, 2001 City Council meeting.
2. Adopt the following Appropriation Ordinance amendments in the General Fund:
a. Establish an appropriation for the e-Government Applications project in the amount of $97,000.
b. Decrease the e-Government Applications Earmarked Reserve by the amount of $97,000.
3. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a first amendment to the agreement with Maximus, Inc. for consulting services on e-Government, extending the term of the agreement from November 2, 2001 to January 31, 2002, at an additional cost of $97,000, for a total cost of $195,100.
BACKGROUND
The e-Government status report was presented and approved by the Finance and Infrastructure Committee on October 10, 2001. The memo was reported out and approved by the City Council on October 23, 2001. However, the item was inadvertently not cross-referenced on the City Council agenda. Therefore, this item is being brought back to Council for specific action that must be taken in order to proceed with completing due diligence efforts. A new appropriation is being established because a new funding source is recommended for completion of the due diligence efforts. The initial due diligence work was funded from a Technology Improvements appropriation in the General Fund; the proposed continuation of the due diligence efforts would be funded by monies currently in an earmarked reserve for e-Government applications, also in the General Fund.
In the Mayor’s June Budget Message memo for the fiscal year 2001-2002, the City Manager was directed to report back to the Finance and Infrastructure Committee within 120 days with a review of the due diligence performed on the implementation of the City of San Jose’s e-Government Vision and Strategy. Due diligence would be completed prior to release of the $2 million set aside in reserves in the FY 2001-02 budget. An additional $800,000 was added to the $2 million reserve in the Annual Report for a total of $2.8 million. The responsibility for completing due diligence was assigned to the Information Technology Planning Board.
ANALYSIS
The due diligence report prepared by MAXIMUS confirmed staff’s concerns that the initiative estimates prepared by Arthur Andersen were quite conservative. It also described the need for managing implementation on an enterprise-wide basis as a critical success factor. Other areas that have contributed in the past to the difficulties experienced with the City’s enterprise-wide projects were reiterated. These included:
· need to plan for, fund, and enhance the City’s information technology infrastructure as a pre-requisite for successful implementation of other transaction web-based applications, such as payments on-line, to handle the increased customer demand;
· provide system/hardware fault tolerance and a higher degree of system reliability to provide 24x7 service delivery on a consistent basis;
· need for interface or integration with current systems (i.e., the Call Center tracking and various work order systems);
· need to plan for, fund, and perform necessary software upgrades and annual maintenance;
· identify up front the appropriate level of staffing during implementation, including a full-time project manager and dedicated staff, as well as on-going technical support;
· provide staffing for 24x7 support in the Network Operations Center;
· develop a realistic projected timeline.
Staff recommended proceeding conservatively, in a phased manner, with regular reports to Council at major decision points. This will allow the Council and staff to better assess the impacts of the economy on available resources and to confirm commitment to proceed on proposed e-government initiatives.
To complete the due diligence effort, the following tasks are to be completed by MAXIMUS:
· Develop a detailed list of enhancements to the City’s existing information technology infrastructure needed to be in place to support e-Government (estimate: $30,000);
· Map all the relationships between various existing systems for e-Government integration, including the City’s Call Center, existing various work order systems currently in use in various City departments as well as City’s email, Human Resources/Payroll, finance and budget systems, utility billing, and building permits systems to create the conceptual framework design for the San Jose Wizard, the Service Request System, and On-Line Payments System (estimate: $50,000);
· Continue the due diligence effort associated with the On-Line Payments (estimate $17,000);
· Issue a Request for Qualification for the San Jose Wizard, which is the foundation for all other e-Government applications, to determine market availability and to confirm estimated project costs;
· Develop in conjunction with the City Attorney’s Office, recommended policies related to security, privacy, advertising, electronic payments, etc.
Upon completion of these tasks, staff will return to the Finance and Infrastructure Committee with another update.
Although the public will benefit from
the implementation of these major projects, public outreach is not
applicable. However, the Information
Technology Planning Board is working closely with Information Technology and
the City Manager’s Office to successfully implement these projects.
This memorandum was coordinated with the City Manager’s Office, the Budget Office, the City Attorney’s Office, and the Information Technology Department.
LARRY D. LISENBEE WANDZIA GRYCZ
Budget Director, Budget Office Chief Information Officer,
Information Technology Department