Information Technology

Overview

The City of Colton recognizes the vital role that intelligent use of information technology plays in fulfilling its mission and goals. It is a major factor in enabling city staff to meet the ever-changing demand for services in the face of leveling or decreasing revenues. It is an essential investment that, over time, can enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the organization.

Mission

The IT division is a Division of the Management Services Department. The mission of the IT division is to lead and support information systems and technologies that enable city departments to accomplish their respective missions and to provide department personnel with information relative to their operations, support strategic planning, and promote effective resource management. To that end, the development of city information systems infrastructure will enhance the ability of our officials and employees to provide the highest level of service to the citizens of Colton and business community.

Goals

To meet the needs of the City of Colton, infrastructure will be scalable, adaptive, and flexible. The infrastructure will allow for growth and expansion, adaptation to new technologies and applications, and accommodation of specialized equipment needed for research. The goal is to provide immediate and efficient access to computing tools and information so that staff has access to information technology that will enable us to continuously improve how we provide and deliver services to citizens and to each other.

To fulfill our mission, Information Technology (IT) has established the following goals:

  • Develop and maintain a program for replacement of personal computers and servers
  • Establish citywide standards for software, hardware, communications equipment, and networks that are flexible in nature and can accommodate changes in technology
  • Provide timely, secure, cost effective, and immediate access to information for all city staff, regardless of location
  • Annually review and update goals within the context of developing information technology
  • Annually review all computer-purchase budget requests and prioritize them against other resource requests

Principles

A set of principles, derived from the work of past and ongoing city personnel, guides the role of Information Technology in the City of Colton. Timeless in nature, these principles are fundamental to the culture of the city, as they serve as a litmus test for assessing the suitability of alternative strategies considered throughout the planning process. These principles are stated succinctly and explicitly and are designed to serve as a common guidepost throughout the planning process:

  • IT will support the city's various missions. Technology resources will be used, where effective, to support and advance the primary missions of the City of Colton.
  • IT investment will be a strategic resource. Given Information Technology's role in supporting the City of Colton - primary missions, strategic resource will be managed with constant attention to effective and fair allocation. Allocation decisions will be considerate and solicit city staff and constituent input.
  • IT investment will be valued as an operating cost and a capital investment. Because of the short life span of technology equipment and software, IT investment(s) will be treated as both an operating cost and a capital investment. Furthermore, the human resource costs of providing adequate IS support is an increasingly larger portion of the overall cost of IT. Investment decisions will consider overall operating costs including maintenance, upgrade, support, and management.
  • IT services will be available to the entire community. The City of Colton core IT resources will be provided uniformly to all city departments.
  • IT services will be a shared resource. Specific and localized needs will be reviewed within the framework of promoting the common good.
  • IT use will be ethical. The use of information technology at the city will be guided by a Code of Ethics that addresses the laws and practices of responsible behavior concerning fair use, privacy, intellectual property rights, and censorship. It will be the responsibility of each user to be familiar with this code and to abide by it to avoid infringing upon the rights of other users.
  • Technology costs and complexity will be managed with reasonable adherence to the city technology architecture. A comprehensive set of technical standards will be identified and supported by the city. Distinctive needs may require nonstandard approaches.
  • Administrative data will be managed in accordance with legal and privacy requirements. Administrative data is the property of the City of Colton and will be generated and made accessible in ways that meet city and management needs giving due respect for departments.
  • New technologies entail risk that will be managed. Risks are inevitable in the introduction and use of new information technology. Risk-taking in the use of advanced technologies will be encouraged and supported in the areas if it doesn't violate other principals. However, in administrative areas, risks will be conservatively monitored and managed.