Government Technology - November 2007 - (Page 42) local gov j j Synopsis: In Manor, Texas, officials have found creative ways to stretch their IT dollars. Agency: Manor CIO. Technologies: Servers, thin clients, Google Earth, blogs. Pinching city county Contact: Dustin Haisler. CIO, Manor Texas, 512/272-5555, . Pennies reatio ex nihilo: Something from nothing. A phrase common among biblical scholars, it could apply as easily to Manor, Texas, where CIO Dustin Haisler is building a meaningful IT infrastructure with virtually zero financial resources. In 2006, the city’s technology shop operated on an IT budget of $64,893, or roughly half of 1 percent of the municipality’s $12.6 million budget. In a year and a half on the job, Haisler pursued a number of creative projects to stretch those dollars to meet a range of needs for the community of 5,220 residents. “Small communities can get by with what they have,” he said. “But to do so, they are going to have to seek innovative solutions. We needed innovative solutions to get done what we needed without spending an arm and a leg.” First on Haisler’s list: consolidating a wildly fragmented IT environment. Throughout the city, each department ran its own software, usually single copies installed on individual PCs. The police used PROCOP from CBS Specialty Software for records management. Housing permits were tracked on Excel spreadsheets. The system needed coordination. Haisler convinced the City Council to spend $9,000 on a pair of Dell PowerEdge servers, making his pitch on potential time and cost savings, and waste reductions. It was Haisler’s biggest purchase, but an absolutely vital step, he said. The servers became home to Tyler Technology’s Incode, a software package that addresses virtually all aspects of government management on a consolidated platform. C One small Texas town builds IT solutions on a shoestring. BY ADAM STONE | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Making It Work With the infrastructure in place, Haisler said he set out to tackle one of the costliest IT items on the city budget: police dispatch. In the past, Manor’s emergency dispatch work was handled by nearby Travis County. In 2006, however, the county started charging for the service and presented Manor with a NOV_07 42 http://www.govtech.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - November 2007 Government Technology - November 2007 Contents Point of View Way Back Machine The Last Mile GT Spectrum Big Picture Building Better Government Up Close Inspector Gadget By the Numbers Money Talking No Greenwashing Pinching Pennies Bay Bridge Bustle Two Cents Products Signal: Noise Government Technology - November 2007 Government Technology - November 2007 - (Page Bellyband1) Government Technology - November 2007 - (Page Bellyband2) Government Technology - November 2007 - Government Technology - November 2007 (Page Cover1) Government Technology - November 2007 - Government Technology - November 2007 (Page Cover2) Government Technology - November 2007 - Government Technology - November 2007 (Page 3) Government Technology - November 2007 - Contents (Page 4) Government Technology - November 2007 - Contents (Page 5) Government Technology - November 2007 - Contents (Page 6) Government Technology - November 2007 - Contents (Page 7) Government Technology - November 2007 - Point of View (Page 8) Government Technology - November 2007 - Point of View (Page 9) Government Technology - November 2007 - Way Back Machine (Page 10) Government Technology - November 2007 - Way Back Machine (Page Alcatel1) Government Technology - November 2007 - Way Back Machine (Page Alcatel2) Government Technology - November 2007 - Way Back Machine (Page 11) Government Technology - November 2007 - The Last Mile (Page 12) Government Technology - November 2007 - The Last Mile (Page 13) Government Technology - November 2007 - GT Spectrum (Page 14) Government Technology - November 2007 - GT Spectrum (Page 15) Government Technology - November 2007 - Big Picture (Page 16) Government Technology - November 2007 - Big Picture (Page 17) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 18) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page Symantec1) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page Symantec2) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page Symantec3) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page Symantec4) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 19) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 20) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 21) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 22) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 23) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 24) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 25) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 26) Government Technology - November 2007 - Building Better Government (Page 27) Government Technology - November 2007 - Up Close (Page 28) Government Technology - November 2007 - Up Close (Page 29) Government Technology - November 2007 - Inspector Gadget (Page 30) Government Technology - November 2007 - Inspector Gadget (Page 31) Government Technology - November 2007 - Inspector Gadget (Page 32) Government Technology - November 2007 - Inspector Gadget (Page 33) Government Technology - November 2007 - By the Numbers (Page 34) Government Technology - November 2007 - By the Numbers (Page Sprint1) Government Technology - November 2007 - By the Numbers (Page Sprint2) Government Technology - November 2007 - By the Numbers (Page 35) Government Technology - November 2007 - By the Numbers (Page 36) Government Technology - November 2007 - By the Numbers (Page 37) Government Technology - November 2007 - Money Talking (Page 38) Government Technology - November 2007 - Money Talking (Page 39) Government Technology - November 2007 - No Greenwashing (Page 40) Government Technology - November 2007 - No Greenwashing (Page 41) Government Technology - November 2007 - Pinching Pennies (Page 42) Government Technology - November 2007 - Pinching Pennies (Page 43) Government Technology - November 2007 - Bay Bridge Bustle (Page 44) Government Technology - November 2007 - Bay Bridge Bustle (Page 45) Government Technology - November 2007 - Bay Bridge Bustle (Page 46) Government Technology - November 2007 - Bay Bridge Bustle (Page 47) Government Technology - November 2007 - Two Cents (Page 48) Government Technology - November 2007 - Products (Page 49) Government Technology - November 2007 - Signal: Noise (Page 50) Government Technology - November 2007 - Signal: Noise (Page Cover3) Government Technology - November 2007 - Signal: Noise (Page Cover4)
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