Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/11/2012

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Important Service - Specific Considerations CPM 101 Annual Report: FY2011 Information Technology /71 • IT staffing locations- IT figures regarding expenditures and staffing correspond to IT activities across the jurisdiction whether such activities are centralized, decentralized or both. • Contractors- IT expenditure figures include payments for any contracted IT services, but staffing figures do not include contractors. Therefore, in -house operations may have more hours paid to local government staff, but expenditure data will reflect both in -house and outsourced services. Broadly speaking, the physical, political, and demographic characteristics of each reporting jurisdiction also influence performance. • Examples include unusually good or bad weather, new state or federal mandates, significant changes in state or federal aid, major budget cuts, and median household income. Citizen preferences, council or board priorities, local tax resources, and state - imposed spending limits cause additional variation in the funds, equipment, and staff available for providing IT services. A list of additional considerations applying to all service areas is included in the introduction to this report. Please review it before reporting, analyzing, or otherwise using the information in this report. Suggested Applications • Evaluate the results An important first step in being able to use the data is to take the time to evaluate and study the results. Make sure that you have reviewed the definitions and explanatory notes located at the end of the section to ensure you understand what each figure is portraying. In addition to the graphs already created, you can easily create new graphs from the data file to help in your analysis. In looking at the data, use each figure to examine your performance compared to your peers. Look at where your jurisdiction falls in regards to the means and medians for each figure. It is helpful to make a list of the areas where your jurisdiction is performing well and the areas where there is room for improvement. • Review your current policies In looking to apply the data, consider why your jurisdiction might be performing well in certain areas. Perhaps you could use it as an opportunity to reward or celebrate the achievement and hard work of those involved. Also, consider ways to continue this high performance and expand it to other areas in the department or across the jurisdiction. If you are performing above the norms, check in with ICMA if you would be willing to share what you are doing to achieve high performance. Your practices may be suitable for write -up that can be shared with others. In evaluating the areas that are in need of improvement, review your current information technology policies and consider changes that might be made. What are your policies regarding replacement criteria for exiting IT equipment? Also look at the way the IT employees interact with the rest of the jurisdiction employee's. How are requests submitted to the IT employees? Are there timeframes set up for responses from the IT employees? Simple policy and procedure changes could have a large impact on a jurisdiction's IT performance. OCMA Center for Performance Measurement'"