IT department on its way to recovery

Photo from articulate.com

Over the last four years, Grand Rapids’ information technology department has been under scrutiny for its severely aged technology that has cost the city tons of money.

            The IT department continues to reorganize from the problems it faced back in 2007 when then City Manager Kurt Kimball laid off the department’s three managers because of the lack of upgrades to the system’s technology. After an outside consultant reviewed the technology, the city found out it needed $6 million worth of upgrades.

            Ruth Lueders, the deputy comptroller for the city, said that the IT department’s internal service charges, along with its cost allocation methods, have been under considerable review since then.

            “It’s the IT department,” said the new director of the IT department, Paul Klimas. “It shouldn’t be getting all this press.”

            Kimball hired Klimas in 2007 to transform, reorganize and retool the department. Since he has taken over the department, Klimas has saved the city $1.8 million. He changed its internet speed from a very slow 4 mb per second to a fast 40 m per second. Before the internet change, Klimas said 1,200 users were using the 4mb internet, explaining that a home DSL internet has only 1.5 mb. A city the size of Grand Rapids should not be running on a speed as slow as 4 mb, he said.

            “The internet was ridiculously slow,” Klimas said.

            He also increased the network speeds from 1 GB to 10 GB. Klimas and the department changed the aged telephone system that was debt-financed. The departmental adapted a new financial system, too.

            “Technology needs to be changed every three years,” Klimas said. “Think about how long laptops last. That’s how often we need to change our technology.”

            The numbers show the department’s success since Klimas became the new director.For the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the department is getting an estimate of $6.19 million to operate. During the 2007-2008 fiscal year, before the drastic change, the department received $8.75 million showing that the department has taken a turn for the better not only technologically, but financially.

            The IT department’s mission is to maintain a stable enterprise technology system infrastructure and guide the city in leveraging proven information technology in the accomplishment of the city’s and each unit’s mission.

            The department is also known as Information Technology and Change Management. This means that the department is also in charge to optimize work performance, make work environment more suitable and even deal with health-related issues.

            “We make sure people like working for the city,” Klimas said.

            The department runs like a non-profit. The city departments go to IT to manage their software. Klimas described the IT department as an internal business because the department sells their services to other city departments.  IT is in charge of networks, software and desktop services.

            In the four years Klimas has taken over the department, the department has reduced its staffing by 40 percent. The department was overstaffed before the department downfall. More staff means more money the department needs, and in the tough economy, departments have to be more conservative on money. Thirty-four percent of the department’s budget is for the staff, the rest is for hardware maintenance and capital.  

            “The economic downturn and state reduction in revenue sharing have led cost cutting in every department for the past several years,” Lueders said.

            Only two people make up the actual IT department, Klimas and another supervisor. The rest of the 30 members of the staff are under contracts, some working in other states on the city’s technology.

            Financial analyst Gary Mortensen said the departments make their own financial plan for the fiscal year to let the budget office know how much money they need. Certain authorities in each department project wages. The budget will go to the CFO, then the city manager and then the city commission approves it.

            “It’s a very dry process,” Mortensen said.     

            The city manager will review the IT department’s budget on Dec. 3, but the final approval won’t happen until June 14 during a public hearing with the city commission.