By Clarence Cromwell
A penny-wise upgrade for Saratoga's computer system could cost as little as $543,000, but a technology expert has recommended that the city spend $783,000 to overhaul the system.
After a three-week study of city computers and software, management consultant J. Edward Reed of Wise Consulting Services wrote a five-year technology master plan to beef up Saratoga's computer capabilities. He presented his plan on Feb. 3 at the City Council's budget session.
The City Council decided to hire Wise Consulting on Jan. 17, at the request of Saratoga Finance Director Thomas Fil. Fil asked for the low-cost plan, said Reed, who doubts that the City Council will approve all the funding recommended.
Under the resulting "worst case" plan, Reed omitted a recommendation to hire a part-time city technology coordinator and recommendations to buy scanners and printers for the city clerk. He trimmed the budget for software by $35,000 and the budget for computer and software maintenance by $40,000. He omitted a $60,000 fund to replace worn computers.
Reed's "best case" plan would cost $463,000 more than the plan he recommended. It includes Internet access, laptop computers for some employees, $69,000 more for maintenance and a $276,000 fund to replace worn equipment.
Reed's recommended plan is a compromise between the best and worst cases.
Central to the plan is a $30,000-a-year technology coordinator. Most cities allocate 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of their payroll to such consultants, who maintain computer systems and solve technical problems. Saratoga currently does not have a technology coordinator.
But it needs this type of expert to strengthen municipal employees' computer skills and knowledge because most city departments lack both, Reed said.
Hiring a technology coordinator would actually save the city money because three computer-literate city employees now handle any computer hang-ups, postponing their routine responsibilities to do so. One of the three is Fil, who earns $63,500 a year.
The coordinator would install all the networking and computing hardware the city needs.
An additional $10,000 would be spent over five years training an employee from each city department to be a technical specialist. The specialists would handle most computer bugs, but would call the coordinator for any problems beyond their ability.
The city would buy $265,000 in computer equipment during the next two years, under the recommended technology plan.
That includes $60,000 for replacing or upgrading 31 obsolete 286-based and 386-based personal computers before 1998. Reed said he recommends replacing the machines with Pentium-based computers.
The city also would replace the the 486-based file server computer with a bigger central processor next year, at a $75,000 cost. Upgrading the network that links city computers would follow a year later and cost another $75,000.
The new network should allow every worker to send faxes and email messages from his or her desktop computer. The current network sends data at 2.5 megabits per second, five times too slow for the most powerful municipal software programs.
About $55,000 worth of optical scanners--machines that read documents and store the text on computer disks--and laser printers would make the city clerk's office more efficient, Reed said. The scanners would help the clerk put public-record documents online. City Council and Planning Commission agendas and minutes can be retrieved via modem from the Virtual Valley online service. Virtual Valley is owned by Metro Publishing Inc., publisher of the Saratoga News.
Reed recommends putting away an additional $60,000, during the last three years of the plan. The money would buy new computers when the batch to be purchased next year wears out.
During the next three years, the city needs to replace outdated software no longer supported by manufacturers. New programs will cost about $215,000.
The master plan also includes forming a technology steering committee that would guide future technology planning. Hardware and software maintenance would amount to $153,000 during the five years.
The City Council sent the technology master plan to the Finance Advisory Committee for examination at its Feb. 12 meeting. The committee is to report its opinion back to the council.
The city chose Wise Consulting from a field of eight firms and paid the company $11,500 for the study. Wise consulting formulated similar technology plans for San Mateo and 20 other California cities.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 14, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved