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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03132007 - SD.6 SE-L TO � Contra' ' BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ��� ��'°� FROM: JOHN CULLEN, County Administrator - '� Costa ,..-NI11NH,; .: ;z DATE: MARCH 5, 2007 ��'' = s County sracovK'- SUBJECT: AUTOMATION OF THE BOARD'S AGENDA PROCESS S D- 6 SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION AUTHORIZE the County Administrator's Office to evaluate systems to automate the Board's agenda process and return to'the Board within 45 days with a project recommendation. FISCAL IMPACT The estimated cost range for such a system is $200,000 to $300,000, depending on the system capabilities and software platform. Costs can be funded with general revenues reserved specifically for countywide administrative and financial automated systems. BACKGROUND For many years, there has been interest in modernizing and automating the very labor-intensive process of creating the weekly Board of Supervisors meeting agendas and packets. Key agenda CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: ©-YES SIGNATURE: [R'kECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ❑ RECOMM ATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE [-APPROVE ❑ OTHER r SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOA D N c s h APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER ❑ VOTE OF SUPERVISORS: I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND UNANIMOUS (ABSENTT� ) ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED: March 13, 2007 Contact: Julie Enea(925)778-2982 JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR cc: County Administrator Chief Information Officer IT Cabinet Members(via CAO) GSD-Purchasing and Materials Manager y: Depu Proposal to Automate the County Agenda Process March 5, 2007 Board of Supervisors Page 2 tasks include creation and review of agenda items, development of the agenda and packet materials, agenda publication and notification, summarization of the meeting and preparation of meeting minutes, publication and distribution of certified Board documents, and archival and retrieval of official Board records. The current agenda process is mostly manual and paper- driven. The advent of email has partially automated some agenda transmittals, but these items are ultimately converted to paper for distribution and final action. Many individuals are involved in the development of the weekly agenda and packet. Items can go through as many as ten independent levels of review before they are finally placed on the Board agenda. .In 2002, former Supervisor Donna Gerber requested the County Administrator's Office to study the feasibility of implementing an electronic agenda process to replace the County's paper-based system (see attached Board Order). In 2002/03, the County Administrator's Office examined several off-the-shelf systems and also the system built by Sacramento County. As cost was a particular concern at the time, the County Administrator's Office and Office of Information Technology assembled a departmental work group and began working with a private vendor from Maryland to adapt a generic workflow automation tool to the County's agenda process. The 18- month effort was eventually abandoned due to technological obstacles, a lack of project management resources, and changes in several key staff positions in the Clerk's Office. Instead, the County Administrator's Office changed its focus to modernizing the visual display capabilities in the Board Chambers, resulting in the current visual projection and digital recording systems. Although not wholly successful, the County's first attempt at automating the Board agenda process was a tremendous learning experience and since 2002/03, a cottage industry has evolved that offers a variety of new agenda tools and products at affordable prices. The County Administrator requests the Board to authorize a commitment of staff and financial resources to develop and implement an electronic agenda process in this County. The new and key feature being recommended and which is incorporated in the estimated system cost are the services of a project manager to develop and implement the project plan. Desirable features for an agenda system include: ■ Secured electronic submission of agenda items using standard input screens developed to County specifications ■ Variable and fixed electronic routing of items for review and approval ■ Electronic reporting of item status and audit trail of document changes ■ Standard templates for Board documents and agenda language ■ Ability to attach supplemental documents in a variety of common formats ■ Conversion of documents and attachments to PDF (potable document format) for universal access ■ Automated distribution of agendas to subscribers ■ On line publication of agenda and packet materials ■ Automated distribution of certified Board documents ■ Automated digital archiving of agendas, certified documents, and attachments ■ Automated search and retrieval of archived documents ■ Electronic tabulation and recordation of vote count ■ Incorporation of meeting summaries and minutes Proposal to Automate the County Agenda Process March 5, 2007 Board of Supervisors Page 3 Potential benefits of such a system are manifold: ■ Items automatically routed, never lost ■ Promotes collaboration among all participants in the agenda building process ■ Task list tells user where an item is at any time in the review process...no need to track down status ■ Audit trail of changes during development, improved accountability ■ Eliminates requirement for packet copies, saving paper and staff time in duplication ■ Documents converted to PDFs for ease of access ■ Historical documents can be retrieved and re-used, reducing data input ■ Convenient public and staff access to current and historical Board agendas and packet materials via the Internet ■ Print out selected items only, not the whole packet ■ Standardized formats for consistent, high-quality documents ■ Eliminates redundant data input ■ Enables Clerk and department staff to focus efforts on high-level tasks, e.g., accuracy, completeness, public noticing On March 1, 2007, staff from the County Administrator's Office made a presentation to the Information Technology (IT) Cabinet, which was assembled by the County Administrator in 2006 as a standing review body for new information technology initiatives. The IT Cabinet unanimously recommended to the County Administrator that this project be given a high priority for funding and implementation in recognition that the Board agenda process is critical to the mission of the County and that automation of this process benefits all County departments, the Board, and the general public. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION A decision to not automate the agenda process would result in missed opportunities for operational efficiency and improvement in the quality of Board documents, and continued limited access by staff and to the public of Board documents and records. eJr TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: Donna Gerber Costa DATE: 7 May 2002 County SUBJECT: Board of Supervisors'Agenda and Back-up Material SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)8 BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: Direct the County Administrator to study the feasibility of converting the Board of Supervisors' agendas and back-up material from a paper-based communication to an electronic format and to report back to the Finance Committee within 45 days with the results of the study. BACKGROUND: As the complexity of county government continues to grow,so does the Board's agenda and back-up material. Some weeks the Board packet measures a foot thick.The packets are distributed on Friday afternoon via interoffice mail to the Board members, but if members of the media or the public wish an agenda and back-up material,they must travel to Martinez. Traditionally,the Clerk of the Board has faxed items to interested individuals, but that can be a time-consuming task. Many of our county s cities have gone to an electronic or on-line version of their weekly agendas.With our county's technological resources,it seems that it should be possible for the Board of Supervisors to do the same. The advantages are numerous.After initial start-up costs,an electronic version of the Board's agenda and back-up material would eventually be more economical,saving paper and duplicating costs.An electronic packet would also be more efficient;materials would be in one central location and there would be no fear that every packet did not contain all the same information. Most importantly,an on-line Board agenda and packet would give the public easy and equal access to information. r CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT:,YES SIGNATURE: ,RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR _RECOMMENDATION OF BOAR C MITTEE _1,--APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BO D N APPROVE AS RECOMMENDE6 OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED `�—r7_O CONTACT: JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC:CAO Supv.Gerber DEPUTY BY /—^ — �� ADDENDUM to SD.6 March 6, 2007 On this day,the Board of Supervisors considered authorizing the County Administrator's Office to examine systems to automate the Board's agenda process and return to the Board within 45 days with a project recommendation, as recommended by the County Administrator. John Cullen, County Administrator,presented the report. Julie Enea, Deputy County Administrator,presented the potential benefits of automation. Supervisor Uilkema suggested that with any automated agenda system, she would want there to be a failsafe to ensure the preservation of confidentiality when needed. She also suggested that Supervisor's Chiefs of Staff be contacted to provide information about the particular needs of the Supervisors' offices. By a unanimous vote with Supervisor Glover absent, the Board of Supervisors took the following action: AUTHORIZED the County Administrator's Office to examine systems to automate the Board's agenda process and return to the Board within 45 days with a project recommendation.