Politics Trip State, Local CIOs
BR Politics Trip State, Local CIOs By Dennis McCafferty Staff Writer Establishing the position of chief information officer in state and local governments is no simple matter, as officials in Connecticut have discovered. Looking to become Connecticut's first CIO, Rock Regan got a quick lesson in the game of political hardball. Overseeing statewide information technology strategy, Regan has served as a chief architect for a controversial proposal to
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Politics Trip State, Local CIOs
By Dennis McCafferty
Staff Writer
Establishing the position of chief information officer in state and local governments is no simple matter, as officials in Connecticut have discovered.
Looking to become Connecticut's first CIO, Rock Regan got a quick lesson in the game of political hardball. Overseeing statewide information technology strategy, Regan has served as a chief architect for a controversial proposal to outsource all of the state's information technology-based work.
Nebraska photo Nebraska Govenor Ben Nelson |
"There can be a negative backlash [from agencies] with constrictive uses and putting all the confidence in one person,'' said Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson. "So you have to be careful not to do that. It's healthy to have this debate so it's not totally controlled by a technology czar.''
Other states like New York, however, have resisted the idea of hiring a CIO.
"Many argue that when you establish a CIO at the cabinet level, it establishes awareness of the issue and helps leverage funds,'' said Camaron Thomas, director of New York Gov. George Pataki's task force on information resource management. "But there are downsides. Some say information is a resource. If that's so, then so are buildings. Would you have an office of buildings? Would you have an office of cars?''
Nevertheless, some local governments are following suit and hiring CIOs. Los Angeles County hired CIO Jon Fullinwider in late January. Fullinwider is now assessing each department's use of information technology and deciding how much more centralized the process will become.
"You can draw a line in the sand and win, but you can also lose,'' Fullinwider said. "So you want to be cautious.''
The city of Charleston, S.C., is hiring for the position as well. Yolo County, Calif., a rice and tomato farming community of 150,000 about 15 miles west of Sacramento, recently signed a one-year contract for Bill Hookano to serve as CIO. The idea is to let Hookano whip information technology services into shape, then leave the job for a permanent CIO.
Past attempts to automate human resources and court justice systems in Yolo County have met with failure. The court system, for example, was supposed to allow attorneys to get daily court schedule updates through an automated phone call. But now it takes up to 45 minutes to get the court calendar into a computer, said Keith Ott, the county's director of general services.
"We thought we were doing pretty good, but we are behind the curve in a number of areas,'' said Ott, explaining the need for a CIO.
In Connecticut, both Regan's pending appointment and outsourcing proposal face a stiff challenge. The outsourcing initiative must undergo a state audit and legislative approval. A 3/5ths vote by either the state house or senate can defeat the outsourcing.
Connecticut is the first state to propose a complete outsourcing of IT. State and local government information technology outsourcing is growing at 20 percent annually and represents a $936 million market for contracts, according to G2 Research Inc. in Mountain View, Calif.
A leader of the union that is bidding on the outsourced work in Connecticut promises that vocal opposition will continue into the next session. Other bidders for the work are Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp.; Plano, Texas-based Electronic Data Systems Corp.; and El Segundo, Calif.-based Computer Sciences Corp. Connecticut officials would like to award the contract to one prime contractor, but may opt to outsource the work to two bidders.
"We represent the people who do the data processing in the state,'' said Rick Melita, political education coordinator for the Connecticut State Employees Association, which represents 600 data processing professionals. "We know the needs of the state and we know where past management has dropped the ball. We find that the solution of outsourcing is a wrong one. ... From a philosophical point of view, there's a concern over so much access to information being so concentrated.''
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