Government Technology - December 2008 - (Page 14)

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 13 tion of a citywide 311 system. While serving Street, Phillis was a member of the mayor’s Cabinet, but his position under Mayor Michael Nutter was downgraded and he reports to Barnett. Kentucky hasn’t had a permanent head of IT since Mark Rutledge resigned as CIO in December 2007. Currently Lori Flanery is listed as acting CIO, according to NASCIO. Similarly in South Carolina, since Jim Bryant resigned as the state’s CIO in early 2008, the position has remained vacant for most of the year. Florida also moved slowly on the CIO front, ﬁnally appointing David W. Taylor as interim state CIO after leaving the position vacant for a long time. Taylor had served as the CIO and IT director for the Florida Department of Health. Portland, Ore., appointed Mark Greinke as the new CTO, promoting him from the position of city information security manager. He joined Portland after 11 years with Intel Corp. in Hillsboro, Ore., where he led technology initiatives to move many business processes from paper to online transactions and the automation of the latest chip factories. Louisiana appointed Edward Driesse its CIO, replacing Rizwan Ahmed, who resigned. Driesse has 15 years’ experience as a CIO in various organizations. His last position was CIO for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Austin, Texas, CIO Pete Collins resigned after allegations of wrongdoing. Earlier in the year, a city employee accused Collins of misusing city property. The allegations were investigated by police who declined to prosecute. Collins was awarded Texas CIO of the Year by Government Technology. A former police ofﬁcer, he was appointed CIO in 2004. Back in California, Steve Ferguson departed from his job as CIO for the city of Sacramento to become CIO of San Jose. Among his accomplishments while heading IT in the state capitol, Ferguson launched the city’s 311 hotline, installed a citywide customer relationship management system, overhauled a utility billing system and introduced online permitting. DEC_08 Washington, D.C., Chooses Google JUNE — District of Columbia CTO Vivek Kundra signs a contract worth nearly $500,000 for Google’s Internetbased e-mail, spreadsheet and wordprocessing applications, according to Bloomberg News. The deal provides Google’s hosted applications for all 38,000 district employees. efficiency of buildings and computing equipment, or developing alternative fuel sources. Growing attention on going green has many IT implications. One of the biggest for state and local agencies is huge interest in remote work. Virginia was a pioneer, with Gov. Tim Kaine issuing a 2006 executive order calling for 20 percent of eligible state workers to telework by 2010. By summer 2008, more than 22 percent of eligible employees were teleworking, exceeding the governor’s goal almost two years early. Virginia certainly isn’t alone on this issue. States and localities nationwide grappled with the right way to implement remote work policies and procedures. And CIOs worried about how to support this new breed of worker. Among their concerns: Are critical systems accessible remotely? Will data remain secure? Can remote employees use home computers for work? Meanwhile, managers and policymakers had their own questions: Which job classifications were eligible for remote work? Can workers be trusted to do their jobs when no one is watching? Will taxpayers believe remote workers really are working when they’re at home? Sometimes, these questions produced gridlock — but not always. The CIO of one Washington state agency recently sent 25 help-desk staffers home to test how well they could work remotely. The pilot was designed to identify technology challenges — workers were equipped with a virtual private network, video conferencing and instant messaging capabilities — and management issues associated with telework. Green concerns — often along with cost cutting — also are behind a nascent move to close government offices an extra day a week to reduce energy consumption. Underpinning these initiatives is the fact that e-government services are mature enough that transactions with citizens and businesses can continue when physical facilities are closed. Utah made the first move, with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. announcing in July a plan called Working 4 Utah, which extended government office hours Monday through Thursday, and closed many of them on Fridays. Four-day workweek pilots also are under way in Hawaii’s departments of Health and Human Resources Development — and the idea is being considered by Leon County, Fla. Huntsman acknowledged the importance of e-government in an announcement marking Utah’s No. 1 ranking in the 2008 Digital States Survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government. “This top ranking is a reflection of our state’s innovative and talented leadership that continues to bring Utah to the forefront of providing greater accessibility to government services through technology,” Huntsman said. “The unprecedented ‘Working 4 Utah’ initiative ensures greater accessibility to state government before and after the normal workday hours, and provides an increased awareness of the more than 800 government services online.” Thanks to green, e-government is cool again. Utah Implements a Four-Day Workweek JULY — Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signs an executive order lengthening state ofﬁce hours Monday through Thursday and closing most ofﬁces on Fridays. The order points out that more than 800 government services are available via the Utah Web portal. State ofﬁcials estimate the program — dubbed Working 4 Utah — will cut energy costs by more than $3 million annually. 14

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - December 2008

Government Technology - December 2008 Contents Point of View Four Questions for... On the Scene Big Picture Year in Review Who Controls Your Network? Paper Makes a Comeback Halting Meth Abuse Spectrum Up Close signal:noise Digital Communities Contents Becoming a Digital Community Rethinking 700 MHz Smart Grids: Powering the Future Gearing Up for Crime 2.0 Software Predicts Crime Local Portals on the Red Carpet More Than Just a Pretty Face

Government Technology - December 2008

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