Agenda - Council - 12/18/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-290- We recommend that Ramsey further investigate and budget for the implementation of an electronic document scanning, storage and retrieval system. This will enhance the City's disaster recovery capability, as well as providing more efficient access to relevant documents by City employees. Financial Systems / Enhanced Reporting Capabilities We recommend that the City further investigate alternative approaches to financial reporting, to accommodate the various reporting needs of different users of the City's financial data. These approaches could include the expanded use of ad hoc reporting tools as well as collaborating with various City departments as well as the council to develop tire reports each constituency feels are necessary to best perform their function. Internal Systems We recommend that the City standardize its computer networks on a single platform, rather than maintaining two network operating systems. Because of the external integration requirements of the Police Department, as well overall support issues, we recommend that the City standardize on Windows NT or Windows 2000 across all departments. This standardization will reduce network support requirements and facilitate better systems integration among the departments. We recommend the City encourage the fuller use of its groupware and calendaring software, possibly through user mdning and management encouragement. We recommend that the City investigate the creation of an Intranet as a tool to facilitate information and knowledge sharing across City departments. This objective will 'also be · aided by standardizing all departments on a common network operating system. We recommend that the City upgrade the connectivity among all its facilities to provide dedicated access to City network resources from .all locations, including Fire and Police. Options include a private wide area net-work, or a Virtual Private Network (VPN) over DSL, for example. Desktop Systems Planning We recommend R~unsey develop a formal plan for the acquisition, rotation and disposition of desktop computer hardware to maximize the value of the City's system assets over the course of their useful life. IT Leadership We recommend that Ramsey contract with LOGIS to provide strategic and tactical technology planning and management services, effectively a contract Chief Information Officer (CIO). Mthough the City investigated this option at one point, LOGIS did not offer these services. Recently, LOGIS has started to offer these services, and is providing similar services to three member cities. By using LOGIS to serve this role, the City will avoid the I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I