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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.F.1. IT Strategic Plan Recommendations General Business 10. F. 1. SUAKOPEE TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Kris Wilson, Acting City Administrator DATE: 03/17/2015 SUBJECT: IT Strategic Plan Recommendations (B) Action Sought The Council is asked to review the results of the recently completed IT Strategic Plan and authorize staff to proceed with hiring for the two new staff positions recommended by the report. Background In the fall of 2014, the City hired LBL Technology Partners out of Minneapolis to facilitate development of an IT Strategic Plan. Input for the plan was gathered from all City Departments including an online survey of all full-time employees, one-on-one meetings with each Department Head and current IT staff, plus a focus group of IT users. Utilizing these inputs, and their knowledge of IT industry best-practices, LBL has provided the attached Strategic Technology Plan. The plan provides recommendations in 3 key areas: Staffing For over ten years, the City has operated with an IT staff of two employees. In recent years a portion of the Telecommunications Coordinator's time has also been used to assist with IT functions. The Strategic Plan confirms what was discussed during the 2015 budget process, and that is the need for a substantial increase in IT Staff A diagram of the staffing structure recommended by the report is attached. To fully achieve this structure the City would need to add two employees — an IT Director and a second IT Specialist focused on the Police and Fire Department; and transfer two existing staff positions -- the GIS Specialist currently housed in Engineering and the Telecommunications Coordinator currently housed in Administration/ Communications. Funding for the two new positions was included in the adopted 2015 operating budget and I recommend proceeding with hiring for those positions at this time. Secondly, I would recommend that the City consider the recommendation to transfer the GIS Specialist and Telecommunications Coordinator as possible Phase 2 items, to be addressed after the new hires are in place and integrated into the City organization. Lastly, the report recommends that the new IT Director report directly to the City Administrator. However, this presents a concern in light of the larger organizational study recently conducted by David Unmacht of Springsted. One of the key recommendations of that report was that the number of direct reports to the City Administrator needs to be reduced—not increased. Therefore, I recommend that the position of IT Director report to the Assistant City Administrator instead. Network Structure The attached Strategic Plan makes two primary recommendations related to the City's network structure or infrastructure. The first is to achieve complete segregation of police and non-police data. The City currently has the Police Department and its data segregated and protected in several ways but there are still a few shared components. Staff needs to do some additional research and analysis in order to arrive at a specific plan of action for achieving this, and to determine the financial investment that would be required to implement this recommendation, but does not expect it to be cost prohibitive. The second recommendation in this area has to do with disaster recovery. The City's disaster recovery efforts to date have focused on backing-up and protecting data— documents, files, databases, etc. In the case of a disaster, this information would not be lost. However, the current disaster recovery approach lacks the duplicate infrastructure to quickly restore access to and use of this data in case of a catastrophic event. Therefore, the strategic plan recommends adding switches and other infrastructure to the City's back-up site which would allow for a more functional system to be brought up quickly in case of a disaster. Additional work needs to be done on this recommendation as well, but it is expected to have a significantly larger cost that than the first recommendation and therefore is something that likely needs to be evaluated as part of the 2016 budget process. Governance Finally, there are two main recommendations relating to what the report calls "IT Governance," which is a formal way of saying "how IT decisions get made." The first is to form an IT Steering Committee composed of representatives of each Department. The City has had something similar to this in the past but it fizzled out as workloads took over everyone's time. The Steering Committee would provide direction, input and feedback to the IT Director regarding big-picture issues and priorities for moving our IT systems forward. The second recommendation in this area is that the City start utilizing more formal, written "Business Cases" for IT projects and decisions. Currently staff analyses needs, options, costs and opportunities but does so primarily through verbal discussion in a staff meeting environment. The Strategic Plan is suggesting that as these decisions become more complex and involve a larger group of people, that the process of formalizing and writing down these Business Cases will lead to better, more strategic IT decisions. Recommendation I recommend that Council proceed with hiring for the two new staff positions recommended in the report. This is a necessary first-step before work on the remaining recommendations can fully proceed. A written position description for IT Director is attached for Council's approval. It is recommended for placement in Grade 10 of the City's Non-Union pay plan, with the realization that we will likely need to hire at the upper end of that pay grade. A job description for the second new position will be brought forward at the next Council meeting. Relationship to Vision This item related to Goal B: Positively manage the challenges and opportunities presented by growth, development and change; and Goal E: Deliver effective and efficient public services by a staff of well-trained, caring and professional employees. Budget Impact Funding for two new IT positions was included in the adopted 2015 budget. Wage and benefit costs for the IT Director position are estimated at $128,000 for a full-year. However, it is likely that the position won't be filled until approximately June 1 —resulting in an actual cost of approximately $75,000 for the 2015 budget. Requested Action The Council is asked to approve the attached position description for IT Director, authorize its placement in Grade 10 of the Non-Union Pay Plan, and direct staff to proceed with filling the position. Attachments: IT Director position description IT Org Chart City of Shakopee POSITION DESCRIPTION TITLE: Information Technology(IT)Director DEPARTMENT: Administration REPORTS TO: Assistant City Administrator STATUS: Full-Time,Exempt PAY GRADE: 10 APPROVED: SUMMARY Leads and manages the City's IT Division to provide a comprehensive,reliable and forward- leaning IT system that serves all seven City departments. Responsible for the prioritization and coordination of IT projects and purchases; and the development and implementation of IT standards and policies. Participates in the configuration,maintenance and resolution of system issues as needed or warranted. Supervises division employees and prepares, recommends and monitors division budget. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Responsible for the overall structure, operation and maintenance of the City's IT services. Participates in the configuration, maintenance and resolution of system issues as needed or warranted. Develops and implements policies and procedures for ensuring the capacity, security and reliability of the City's IT network, including but not limited to group policies, disaster recovery, mobile device management, fiber infrastructure, in-building WiFi, and VOIP. Oversees the selection and implementation of enterprise software, including the City's Microsoft enterprise agreement, document imaging, GIS, and database software. Prioritizes and coordinates IT projects and purchases,with input from the cross-departmental IT steering committee. Compiles project status reports, coordinates project schedules and meetings and identifies and resolves problems to ensure final completion of projects on-time and on- budget. Continuously evaluates the Department's processes and services. Anticipates and takes pro- active steps to prevent potential problems and ensure system stability and capacity. Develops options for improving or matching services more closely to organizational needs and priorities. Implements adopted changes within the designated timeline and budget. Responsible for the development, implementation and enforcement of a comprehensive set of IT policies for users and standards for staff. Works with individual City departments to evaluate and meet ongoing and project-specific IT needs. Maintains regular communication with and ensures division cooperation and coordination g P with other City departments and staff. Prepares and recommends annual division budget to supervisor; administers adopted budget consistent with City policies and procedures. Determines the need for, selects and oversees the work of consultants and contractors. Serves as direct supervisor for division staff. Assigns work; provides day-to-day direction, guidance, and correction; monitors attendance and responds to time off requests, ensures appropriate training and professional development, and conducts annual performance reviews. Enforces adopted personnel policies and other HR directives as they relate to division staff. Participates in recruitment and hiring processes and resolves personnel issues and concerns in consultation with supervisor and human resources staff. Ensures division compliance with local, state and federal regulations, including but not limited to OSHA regulations for workplace safety. Participates in external meetings, seminars and training designed to keep informed of recent trends in the field, industry best practices,new technologies and potential improvements. Keeps supervisor informed of developments within area of responsibility. Performs other related duties as apparent or assigned. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED • Up-to-date knowledge of network infrastructure, including physical and virtual server configuration and management,network storage, hardware, security and disaster recovery. • In depth knowledge of the configuration, set-up and operation of modern office hardware, including desktop, laptop and tablet computers, as well as printers, copiers and scanners. • Familiarity with HIPPA, CJIS, and PCI compliance standards. • Ability to communicate ideas and explanations clearly in English,both orally and in writing. Ability to write reports,memos and business correspondence using proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. • Ability to read, analyze and interpret technical documents such as operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. • Ability to respond to questions and effectively present technical information to fellow City employees with a widely varying degree of technical knowledge. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and group settings and respond to questions from employees, elected officials and the general public. • Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. • Ability to interpret and carry out instructions provided in written, oral, diagram or schedule form. • Ability to maintain a high level of integrity and ethical performance at all times. • Ability to maintain confidentiality of a wide variety of information to which the position provides access(personnel data, law enforcement data, etc.)and to exercise appropriate judgment in the release or presentation of information. • Ability to establish and maintain positive, professional working relationships with co- workers, subordinates, supervisors and elected officials. • Ability to support decisions and recommendations within a context of objective analytical data and justifiable cost. • Ability to work with the public in a friendly,tactful manner. • Ability to plan and develop organizational goals and objectives,take initiative, facilitate organizational change and communicate goals and objectives to Ci ty personnel and the general public. QUALIFICATIONS Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's degree in the IT field plus five years of professional IT work experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Desirable Qualifications IT experience in a state or local government setting. PHYSICAL DEMANDS &WORKING CONDITIONS While performing the duties of this job,the employee is regularly required to sit, stand and move about the office; use hands to finger,handle or feel objects,tools or controls; bend, crawl and twist; and reach with hands and arms. The employees is required to speak,hear and see in order to share information,receive instructions, and complete tasks using a computer screen. The employee must be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The work environment varies and includes standard office settings,with moderate levels of noise generated by conversations, phones and other office equipment; server rooms,with significant electronic equipment generating heat and noise; and various other environments where City computer equipment is housed, operated or installed, including the mechanic's shop, ice arena, outdoor pool and inside and around emergency vehicles. The employee is occasionally required to work outside in a variety of seasonal weather conditions to service the City's mobile devices in the field. The report recommends the following structure: (NOTE:Exact job titles have been adjusted to reflect the City's personnel structure): IT Director Telecom- IT Specialist IT Specialist IT Coordinator GIS munications Police&Fire All Other Depts. (Network&Servers) Specialist Coordinator