PISMO BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item #12.A
Meeting Date: July 16, 2024
TITLE:
Review of Information Technology (IT) Project Updates
RECOMMENDATION:
No action required; information only.
DISCUSSION:
This staff report provides the City Council updates on the status of the new Technology Master Plan, updates on completed or near completed key IT projects, and updates on customer service performance metrics of the City’s IT helpdesk.
Technology Master Plan
The five-year Technology Master Plan (TMP) was approved by the Council in November 2022. The TMP planning process captured all the various technology needs for the City for the next five years. It was developed by a consultant, who interviewed various Departments’ staff to determine needs, strategies, goals, and objectives. The TMP includes 43 initiatives that were prioritized by City staff, have estimated budgets, and were recommended to be funded and implemented over five and half years from fiscal year (FY) 2023 to FY 2028. Details on the progress of the FY 2024 TMP projects are provided below, followed by a list of projects scheduled and funded for FY 2025.
FY 2024 Projects
User Training and Support – IT staff coordinated a comprehensive 10 weeks of end-user training program. Utilizing surplus computer equipment, IT established a 12-person computer classroom in the City Hall employee breakroom, enabling high- value, hands-on training sessions. The training environment also facilitated small workshops and informal training sessions upon request. Half-day classes were offered that covered Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Acrobat, and Laserfiche.
IT collaborated with the training provider, Software Solutions, to create customized SharePoint and office file management training, specifically tailored to the City’s implementation of SharePoint and file management practices. These customized hands-on classes received excellent feedback for their value to staff. IT also worked with the City’s Laserfiche value added reseller to customize the Laserfiche training to the City’s Laserfiche environment and key functionality used in the City’s workflows and electronic forms.
Microsoft SharePoint – The City moved all non-Police working files and department drives to SharePoint. In the event of an emergency, this provides staff with access to their documents from any internet connected computer. It also provides increased sharing and collaboration capabilities. The City now has an intranet site providing easy access to electronic resources for staff.
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Server Upgrades and Replacements – The City has successfully completed the replacement of its SCADA servers, which are essential for the Utilities division to remotely control and supervise the City's water and wastewater systems. This upgrade also enhanced the alarm system for Utilities, resulting in a more modern, robust, and reliable setup.
New servers and a storage system for the Police Department have been installed, with IT planning to complete the migration of Police's virtual servers to the new hardware by the end of July 2024. Similarly, new servers for City Hall have been installed, and the migration of virtual servers to the new hardware is scheduled to be completed by the end of August 2024.
Internet Bandwidth and Police VoIP Phone System Replacement – As part of the Public Safety Facility (PSF) migration, IT installed new fiber circuits to connect the temporary facilities at 330 Main St. and the Bello Veterans’ Hall. This also required upgraded internet capability at City Hall. These upgraded capabilities were necessary to provide for the Police Department to be split up over multiple facilities.
IT also migrated the Police Department into the Microsoft Teams Phone System used by the rest of the City. This migration provided Police increased functionality for its phones and made it possible for IT to phase the migration of staff to the temporary facilities.
Police Body Cameras and Video Management System – IT deployed new body cameras and a new cloud-based video management system for the Police Department. The new body cameras are slightly thinner and provide more functionality. The cloud-based video management system provides increased data protection for the video and increased ability to electronically share the videos with outside agencies. The previous system required hand-delivering flash drives with the videos to the District Attorney’s Office.
Police E-Citations – Due to the PSF migration, this project needed to be delayed until the move was completed. Hardware has been purchased and will be deployed by the end of the month. Testing will start with the motorcycle officers in August 2024.
Time and Attendance System – Earlier this year, the software vendor’s project manager assigned to the City’s project left the company. This delayed the project as a new project manager was onboarded and brought up to speed to ensure a smooth transition for staff. The current project schedule is for Finance to start rolling out the system by September 2024.
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FY 2025 Projects
Multi-Factor Authentication
Time and Attendance System
Managed Detection and Response Solution
Cybersecurity Incident Response
Electronic Content Management and Record Retention
Disaster Recovery Planning
Police E-Citations
Password Manager
Police Scheduling and Time Tracking System
Performance Dashboard
Audit Logs and Log Management
IT Security Assessment
Additional Public Safety Surveillance Cameras
Highlights of Key IT Projects Completed in FY 2024
The highlights of the key IT projects include projects completed during FY 2024.
Public Safety Facility Migration
Over the past year, the Public Safety Facility (PSF) migration has been the primary focus of the IT Division. To ensure meticulous attention to detail, IT issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a project manager to assist with the complex coordination required.
The migration of equipment and data services demanded extensive collaboration with multiple entities, including the City’s internet service providers (AT&T, Spectrum, Peak Wi-Fi), the County of San Luis Obispo network services, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, PG&E, the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), NGA911, AT&T’s 911 services division, the City’s access control and security camera contractor, the radio systems contractor, and the City of Grover Beach.
Given that many critical data circuits and services enabling the public safety dispatch center are managed by external agencies—such as the County, state agencies, and PG&E—IT developed multiple contingency plans to ensure uninterrupted services and meet the City’s deadlines, even if external partners faced challenges.
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Relocation
The PSF project required that the City relocate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) from the old Police station to City Hall. The previous EOC relied on sharing phone lines with other phones at the Police station. New phones dedicated to the EOC were installed at City Hall and the new phone numbers provided to the County EOC. IT coordinated with the County of SLO EOC and PG&E to move the emergency red phone circuits from 1000 Bello to City Hall. An additional TV and Council Agenda 7-16-2024 12.A-3
mobile stand were also needed to allow the EOC to see the City’s surveillance cameras.
Travel Forms and Purchase Orders and Agreements Form
IT is developing new electronic travel authorization and expense forms that will significantly enhance staff efficiency and effectiveness. These integrated forms allow users to enter data once, which is then automatically populated across both forms. This streamlined process ensures that the forms are routed to the correct approvers without the need for duplicate copies of forms and receipts.
Additionally, IT is in the process of introducing a new purchase order and agreements form, unifying the submission process for contracts and purchase order requests. This consolidation reduces onboarding time by merging two work processes into one. The new form also better-enforces the City’s purchasing policy, guiding users through all necessary steps and information for setting up new vendors.
These improvements will not only save time but also ensure accuracy and compliance, greatly benefiting overall staff productivity.
IT Help Desk and Survey Results
Every year, City staff sends out a survey to canvass City employees on the effectiveness of the City’s IT helpdesk. Staff Citywide can contact the IT helpdesk via phone, email, webpage form, or in person. This is the first year the City’s IT technician was primarily responsible for the IT help desk for the full year covered by the survey. Channel Islands Technology Integrators Group (CITIG) is still under contract for after-hours and tier 3 support. The IT Manager manages the IT technician, CITIG contract, and responds to helpdesk issues as needed. The City’s IT technician has been able to handle over 95% of the IT help desk tickets submitted.
Chart 1 shows IT received 47 complete survey results. This past year, survey respondents gave the City’s IT services an overall satisfaction rating of 98%. This is slightly higher than the 93% rating from the previous year.
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Conclusion and Recommendation
This year (FY 2025), staff are planning to complete the TMP projects scheduled for FY 2025. Staff will also be helping to prepare for the outfitting of the PSF and the planning the moving of staff into the PSF. These projects will keep the City in a position to make use of the available technology to provide the highest level of customer service while ensuring security of the City’s systems and business continuity in the event of disruptions.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact from receiving this report as it is information only.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
Prepared by:
Jason Takagi, Information Technology Manager
Submitted by: Nadia Feeser, Administrative Services Director City Manager Approval:
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