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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/07/1992, C-11 - ORGANIZATIONAL AND CLASSIFICATION CHANGE TO BETTER MEET CITYWIDE INFORMATION SYSTEM NEEDS IIIII�I I�IINI�pII=IUIU f MEEfWG DATE: I��nuI 1Ci o san pais osIspo y �- Z Alb COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT STEM NUMBEFj�_'/ FROM: William C. Statler, Director of Finance SUBJECT: ORGANIZATIONAL AND CLASSIFICATION CHANGE TO BETTER MEET CITYWIDE INFORMATION SYSTEM NEEDS CAO RECOMMENDATION Eliminate the position of Support Services Manager and approve the position of Computer Systems Technician in order to better meet the information system support needs of the City without increasing currently authorized staffing levels. DISCUSSION Over the past several years the need to improve the management and support of the City's automated information systems (MIS) has become increasingly clear. This need was recently addressed by the Council through their approval on July 2, 1991 of MIS policies that are intended to guide the acquisition, use,and management of the City's information system resources over the next four years. The City's extensive use of MIS resources has resulted in improved productivity in a wide variety of areas ranging from financial management applications to Police records and dispatch to engineering design and general office automation. At this time, the City has over 200 work stations which is Finance's responsibility to support on a Citywide basis. Since Council adoption of MIS policies last July, significant progress has been made in achieving the high priority objectives outlined in this policy document: Citywide standards have been set and are currently being implemented; within the budget amounts approved in the current 1991-93 Financial Plan, acquisition priorities have been set and administrative i budgeting and purchasing procedures have been established; and an ongoing program of user training is underway. As set forth in our MIS policies, the emphasis has been on better utilizing what we already have as opposed to acquiring or installing new applications. However,given the City's current investment in MIS resources and their critical importance to the City in improving productivity, it is clear that additional staff resources need to be allocated in order to adequately support our existing systems. Based on our current financial condition, this can only be accomplished through a reprioritization of existing resources. As such, it is recommended that the Support Services Manager position be eliminated in order to free—up the resources needed for basic, ongoing technical support of the City's information systems. What will be the impact of this organizational change? Under the existing job description for this position, the Support Services Manager is responsible for administering Citywide purchasing, fixed asset, fleet management, and information system activities as well as departmental computer operations. Because of the -11— I ���n�inu►IVIIIIIIIIIP►��°►9IUIU city of San LL..s OBISpo 1 COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT emerging importance of our information systems and greater Citywide focus on this program, direct supervision of the professional and technical staff allocated to this function was recently transfered to the Director of Finance. There continues to be the need to effectively manage and control the City's purchasing and property management operations, and eliminating the Support Services Manager position will reduce our capabilities in these areas. However,we have a greater need for day—to—day technical support of our MIS resources such as installing and configuring workstations , troubleshooting problems, repairing and maintaining workstations and file servers, installing software and hardware (drives, cards, etc), providing user training, supporting location changes including data communications, and other technical support functions. This type of r support reflects the need for additional technical rather than managerial resources. Given our current financial condition, reallocating existing resources and priorities is recommended before increasing regular staffing levels in meeting this high priority need. FISCAL IMPACT This staffing change will not affect existing authorized staffing levels. However, it will result in annual savings of$27,700 based on the difference in total compensation between the Support Services Manager and Computer Systems Technician positions. With this change, staffing allocated to the Department of Finance for computer support for Citywide and departmental applications will include the Information Systems Coordinator and two Computer Systems Technicians. SUMMARY It is recommended that the Council eliminate the position of Support Services Manager and approve the position of Computer Systems Technician in order to better meet high priority Citywide MIS support needs without increasing regular staffing levels.