T ECHNOLOGY IN C ATAWBA C OUNTY R EPORT TO THE C ATAWBA C OUNTY B OARD OF C OMMISSIONERS P REPARED B Y T HE T ECHNOLOGY D EPARTMENT F EBRUARY 2009

Six Strategic Initiatives Strategic Initiative 1 – Empower the Public: Enable the public to interact with local government by providing secure access to information and the ability to efficiently conduct appropriate business 365/24/7. Strategic Initiative 2 – Improve outcomes, efficiency, responsiveness, and agility of services by transforming the management of information technology through best practices and shared resources. Strategic Initiative 3 – Transform key business processes through the effective use of innovative technology and state-of-the- art software. Strategic Initiative 4 – Leverage innovative partnerships to offer better services. Strategic Initiative 5 – Empower the Workforces: Enable personnel by increasing the efficiency and agility of the systems they depend on. Strategic Initiative 6 – Improve public safety by leveraging modern information systems and technology.

Empower the Public: Enable the public to interact with local government by providing secure access to information and the ability to efficiently conduct appropriate business 365/24/7. S TRATEGIC I NITIATIVE 1

1 Empower the Public… …Web Site Redesign

1 Empower the Public… …Web Site Redesign

1 Empower the Public… …Web Site Redesign BLOGS

1 Empower the Public… Apply for permits online – Track progress Approval and Building Process Automated Notification Comprehensive – Permitting, management, plan review, inspections, scheduling and cashiering. Integrated – GIS, plan review and zoning, municipalities …Permit Center Application Replacement

1 Empower the Public… Multiple forms of payments – Consistent Online, over the counter, phone Convenient for the public Consolidated – Accounts: landfill and building Collected – $1,634, – 8033 transactions …Unified Electronic Payment Processing

Improve outcomes, efficiency, responsiveness, and agility of services by transforming the management of information technology through best practices and shared resources. S TRATEGIC I NITIATIVE 2

Best Practices and Shared Resources… 2 …Best Practices IT Governance Structure Standards Based Decisions Life Cycle Management Plan Project Management Methodology Encouraging and Tracking “Green IT”

Best Practices and Shared Resources… 2 …Shared Resources Citrix Document Imaging System VoIP Microsoft Office SharePoint Services

Best Practices and Shared Resources… 2 …Virtual Technology/SAN(Storage Area Network) March 2006 – 70 physical servers, 4.5 terabytes storage Today 128 servers – 108 virtual and 20 physical servers – 12 terabytes storage used – 27 terabytes of storage available. Full redundancy for disaster recovery Approximately $400,000 in server savings

Transform key business processes through the effective use of innovative technology and state-of- the-art software. S TRATEGIC I NITIATIVE 3

3 Innovative Technology… …Mobilize the workforce Mobile Field Inspection Tools for Food and Lodging and Well and Septic Inspectors: Mobile Field Tools for Home Health Services: Tracking for School Nurse Program Maintenance Work Order System Mobile Field Based Reporting for Law Enforcement

Innovative Technology… 3 …GIS Connected, Integrated GIS is the most visited site on our Web Orthophotography Oblique Photography (Pictometry) Integrated with 911 Communications, Permitting, Inspections, Planning, Tax, Emergency Services AVL and Response Mapping

Innovative Technology… 3 …Mobile and AVL Tools VisionMobile and AVL for Emergency Vehicles – Enhances our current investment by enabling the flow of information to and from units in the field. – Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) tracking with Automated Vehicle Locating (AVL). – Dispatch closest available unit as opposed to the current base dispatched method. – Once dispatched, call information will be sent to the unit's onboard computer with address and mapping directions for the incident.

Innovative Technology… 3 …Mobile and AVL Tools Benefits of this project include: – Increased officer safety using GPS and AVL technologies – Improved response times by having visual maps in the nearest public safety units – Improved response times by sending information of dispatched calls to the public safety units – Delivering valuable information to public safety laptops from existing databases (warrants, criminal history, hazmat,etc.) – Entering reports and monitoring dispatch information directly in the field

Leverage innovative partnerships to offer better services S TRATEGIC I NITIATIVE 4

Innovative Partnerships… 4 …Our Partners Hickory Sunrise Rotary Club Partnership School Surveillance by Sheriff’s Department Mental Health Partners and CVBH Internet Bandwidth Increase with WPCOG

Innovative Partnerships… 4 …Moving Forward Research Broadband in Catawba County – Broadband Provided Mainly by Cable or Telephone Companies – Broadband Speeds are Lagging Behind Other High Tech Countries – No Major Backbone Infrastructure in Catawba County Obama’s Technology Plan – Lead the World in Broadband Deployment

Innovative Partnerships… 4 …Moving Forward United States 5 Mbs /second Japan 60 Mbs /second $35 /month $55 /month

Empower the Workforces: Enable personnel by increasing the efficiency and agility of the systems they depend on. S TRATEGIC I NITIATIVE 5

Empower the Workforce… …Training Well Trained Technology Staff Continuous Training 5

Empower the Workforce… 5 …Tools Mobilization Wireless Connectivity Online – Applications – Expense Reporting – Benefit Enrollment – Time Reporting – Documents

Improve public safety by leveraging modern information systems and technology. S TRATEGIC I NITIATIVE 6

Improve Public Safety… 6 …Security Firewall Upgrade Redundancy Infrastructure Upgrade User Security / Data Security

Improve Public Safety… 6 …Modern Systems E911Telephone Replacement Project and 911 Center Upgrade

Improve Public Safety… 6 …Interoperability 800 MHz VIPER System – Partnership with NCSHP – Land Transferred to State in July 2008 – Tower Constructed (Not finished) – Full County Coverage – Homeland Security Grant – Equipment Ordered for 911 Center – EMS and Law Enforcement Moving Forward Both Systems will remain in place, VHF eventually to function as backup. Organizations can come on as they have funding – Grant Opportunities

T ECHNOLOGY IN C ATAWBA C OUNTY R EPORT TO THE C ATAWBA C OUNTY B OARD OF C OMMISSIONERS P REPARED B Y T HE T ECHNOLOGY D EPARTMENT F EBRUARY 2009