I assume we've learned something from this. I assume that a plan is needed before a project begins because, apparently, the people that have called me, talked, are very disappointed and troubled by the fact that this very important project was handled badly and probably could be almost finished today if the monies, the Empowerment Zone Fund were 1528 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 being managed better. Would you agree?
I'm not so sure about that it could be done today, but it could be much further along, and there's no question that I think we have learned both about the process and the coordination of projects like this. Yes.
It amazes me that anyone would add on a basement without checking to see what the conditions are prior to making that decision, to set a shovel in to start digging a hole, knowing what you're dealing with. And I was led to believe that that was never done.
I'm not exactly sure of the specific finding, but I think that that was a part of the findings, yes.
Does anyone have any more questions? (No further questions at this time.)
Thank you, Madam Chair. 1529 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 Thank you, Councilmembers.
Next is the Mayor's Office of Information Services. (Brian Anderson et al come forward.)
Good morning, Council President and members of City Council.
I am Brian Anderson, Chief Information Officer for the City of Philadelphia. Here with me today is Dr. Karl Bortnick, Chief Program Officer for our agency; Mr. Richard Congo, who's the Enterprise Manager; and Norm Reilly who's our Budget Officer. On behalf of the entire staff of the Mayor's Office of Information Services, I am pleased to provide this testimony on our proposed Fiscal 2000 Operating Budget. The Mayor's Office of Information Services is requesting a total of $13 238,000 from the General Fund for Fiscal Year 2000. 5 million for Class 100, 54 million for Class 200, and $252,000 for Classes 300 and 400. With the Fiscal Year 2000 Budget, we 1530 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 will provide continued and enhanced service to support the City's central and departmental computer systems. More specifically, in Fiscal Year 2000, MOIS's priority is ensuring that the City will be able to meet the challenge of the Y2K problem. Madam President, because of the complexities related to the disclosure of our efforts and progress in the Year 2000 effort, I am requesting that this written disclaimer be included with our written testimony. I have several copies that I can provide to you. As you know, on January 1, 2000, the date logic that operate many computer systems and equipment with embedded technology may not function properly because they may not be able to distinguish the Year 2000 from the Year 1900. Any computer systems or software program that does not incorporate a four-digit in its date logic will potentially fail or be disrupted by this problem. Last March, the City implemented a plan to minimize the risk of disruption of City services or operations caused by the Y2K problem. We established a Year 2000 Steering Committee 1531 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 under the direction of the Managing Director and myself. This committee is in place to oversee citywide activities to remediate any problems and to minimize our risk. To date, we have identified over 700 critical governmental processes that are dependent on hundreds of computer systems, electronic equipment, and external contracted vendors. For each of these, the City identified the probability of failure, the impact associated with the potential failure, the remediation requirements, and the contingency planning necessary. To minimize any potential disruptions, the City has undergone a thorough risk assessment of four major areas of information technology. They include: the City's financial and administrative systems; the City's information technology, which includes all of the City's personal computers, its network infrastructure and its related software; the City's facilities in embedded technology; the utilities and other critical vendors that the City depends on to operate properly. In addition to all of our activities 1532 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. , Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. This form provided benchmark and best-practice information and collaboration opportunities that are valuable in our ongoing efforts for the year 2000. Another key initiative for our agencies for FY 2000 is our Electronic Government Initiative. The growth of Internet access and services is well documented. Nearly every day, there are news stories on how the Internet has revolutionized our lives. The City is committed to this electronic revolution by providing City information and services to the public electronically. Another key initiative is the Geographic Information Systems. The use of Geographic Information Systems technology within City departments is growing rapidly. GIS technology links information to digital map images, which is an important tool for many City departments. For example, it provides the Health 1533 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 Department and the Planning Commission, the housing agencies, and other departments an extensive capability for mapping and analysis. The Data Warehousing Initiative.
Data warehousing will provide the City with opportunities to improve its management processes by using historical trends and measures as a basis for making strategic and operational decisions. Data warehousing is technology that allows users to easily report trends and performance from detailed transactional data. Our initiatives to increase the value of information technology. MOIS will continue to increase the value of information technology for the City by developing new programs that maximize the efficiency and minimize the cost of technology needed to support the City's businesses and operational needs. These initiatives include upgrading the City's central data center and mainframe computer systems by August of 1999. The central mainframe system will be upgraded, enabling MOIS to provide and improve service and lower citywide computer hardware costs. The Desktop Support Services Contract. 1534 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 The new citywide contract for the Desktop Support Program improves the quality of service and significantly reduces the costs related to the desktop maintenance contract. The Consolidated Purchasing Program for Personal Computers. The new Consolidated Purchasing Program implemented by MOIS and the Procurement Department significantly improved the process of purchasing a computer. The time from order to delivery was reduced from 90 days to 12 days. The average cost of a PC has dropped from 13 approximately $2200 per unit to $1,100 per unit. 14 The initiative to upgrade our "Citynet" 15 network infrastructure. The City's enterprise 16 network system is one of the largest local 17 government systems in the country, allowing City 18 employees to access citywide e-mail and various 19 other software applications. As a result of the 20 upgrade plan, Citynet will grow from approximately 21 15,000 users to 30,000 users to incorporate the 22 addition of the School District. 23 In conclusion, we can all be proud as a government for the advances in technology made to date. This progress could not have been 1535 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 accomplished without the collaborative effort of countless technology staff and managers from the Mayor's Office of Information Services and other City departments as well as the support of City Council itself. New technologies like the Internet provide opportunities for us to grow significantly and to improve services in the image of City government. This new technology also presents new challenges and complexities that must be carefully managed to ensure the successful transition of the City of Philadelphia government into the 21st century. Madam President, this concludes my testimony. I want to thank City Councilmembers for their ongoing support, and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you. Could you tell us what the City's strategic plan for becoming Y2K-compliant is? What do you estimate this will cost? And does the City's budget include this funding?
The City's strategy is to approach the Y2K problem as a risk-management 1536 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 problem. We have focused on identifying all of our critical services and all of the critical functions that are required to support those services. So we have identified, as I stated in my testimony, over 700 business processes that are critical by the nature of my definition. Our approach is to investigate every computer system and every technology, every equipment with embedded technology and every supplier, contractor or supplier, to ensure that no problems will occur. To date, most of the costs related to the Year 2000, our Year 2000 efforts, have been included within our General Budget. And I do not have an exact cost for you at this time, but I could put together something for you if you need it.
I appreciate it. You indicate in your testimony that the Year 2000 Steering Committee will be guiding all of the City's agencies in evaluating the Year 2000 problem. When will you be in a position to brief City Council on the status of the Steering 1537 2/23/99 - WHOLE COMM. - Budget - 990023 Committee's findings on the various contingency plans?
We are currently -- as far as our contingency plans are concerned, we are currently scheduled to have most of the plans completed by April. We're in the process of developing the plans. So I would guess that sometime around May, we would be in a position to give you a status on those plans.
It's my understanding that we have somebody here from the Law Department. I would like to have whoever's here from the Law Department read into the record the disclaimer that was circulated to us.
So that the record is very, very clear. (Michael Athay of the Law Department comes forward.)