Delaware Reorganizes IT Office

Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has announced the state plans to disband its existing Office of Information Services and replace it with a new organization led by a cabinet-level chief information officer who can better make use of Delaware's information technology resources.

Minner's actions were based on recommendations made by a task force she appointed in January to review the quality of IT services provided to state agencies, said the governor's office May 8.

Delaware will hire a CIO who will serve on Minner's cabinet and have authority, by virtue of holding the position of chair of a new technology council, over IT spending by all 30 state agencies.

The new CIO will be responsible for delivering technology solutions, overseeing the new technology investment council and setting priorities for technology spending.

The governor also will take the following actions with the support of the general assembly:

*Create a new department of technology and information that will begin operating July 1.

*Establish a technology investment council of seven to nine people to evaluate statewide IT spending and projects.

*Alter funding methodologies to allow more fiscal and management efficiencies.

*Develop a new structure for managing and compensating technology employees.

When she took office in January, Minner established the task force because she was concerned about rising costs of managing IT. Over the past four years, the state's IT spending on hardware and software has nearly doubled, and total IT spending is consuming between 8 percent to 9 percent of state revenue, according to the governor's office.

Twenty-five states have a CIO that reports directly to the governor, while 24 states have CIOs that report to a staff, legislature or cabinet-level officer, according to a March survey conducted by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, which represents state CIOs. The other remaining state is moving toward a CIO-type structure.

Delaware's transition to a new information services agency will take two years. The new CIO will manage both the old Office of Information Services and the new Department of Technology and Information during the two-year period, until the OIS ceases operations June 30, 2003.

While these actions require approval from the Delaware legislature, whose current session ends June 30, the governor's office is confident that the legislation will be passed.

"We are moving as fast as we can [to hire a] new CIO, and probably will start interviewing before the legislation is passed," said Michelle Reardon, a spokeswoman for the governor. "That's how confident we are."