FISCAL 2008-2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
State of the Art Technology Resource Center
Over the course of the past year, DoT has successfully completed negotiations for the establishment of both a new primary and secondary Data center facility to ensure a secure and highly resilient infrastructure for the County's information systems network. The new Data Center is the result of a strategic partnership between Wayne County and Secure-24 which will not only serve to meet the County's need for Data Center space, but also serve as a revenue generation model to reduce overall operational costs by providing these services to other public and private sector organizations.
Technology Virtualization
DoT, through the use of newly acquired virtualization technologies, has been able to reduce the total amount of physical hardware needed to provide services to Wayne County departments by more than 20%, with more consolidations being identified in the future to achieve operational cost savings.
Migration to Microsoft Product Platform
Through establishing an Enterprise-wide licensing agreement for the Microsoft products platform, Wayne County will be positioned to take advantage of not only significant cost savings, but also prepare the way for the migration of the current GroupWise email system to the widely anticipated Outlook/Exchange platform for the future.
WayneCounty.com Launch
The new WayneCounty.com website is the gateway for all online taxpayer services. More than a simple informational website, the new WayneCounty.com will allow taxpayers to submit a request for any service, process payments, track request status, and – in many cases – receive the service online as well. Additionally, the new website will serve as the foundation for transitioning to an eGovernment model.
PeopleSoft 9.0 Upgrade
PeopleSoft is the Human Resource Management System currently utilized by Wayne County. The County was a full version behind before the upgrade, bringing the older PeopleSoft v8.8 to the current PeopleSoft 9.0.
JD Edwards 9.1a Upgrade
JD Edwards is the Enterprise Resource Planning system currently being utilized for all Wayne County financials. The County was two full versions behind before the upgrade, bringing the older JDE v7.3.4 to JDE v9.1a.
Oracle 10g Database Upgrade
PeopleSoft was running on an Oracle 8i database platform, a full two versions behind the current release. The upgrade to 10g ensured system compatibility and uninterrupted support for the PeopleSoft system.
Film Initiative Website Launch
In support of the CEO’s initiative to position Wayne County as a competitive film venue, DoT designed and developed an interactive website to promote this effort. The website includes everything from trailers of feature films produced in Wayne County to outlining all the steps required to shoot a film in the County
Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Website Launch
As a recipient of $25.9 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from a federal $3.92 billion grant, it was important that Wayne County demonstrate the ability to disseminate information about the grant to properties that would be good candidates for funds, as outlined by grant requirements. DoT designed and developed a website that includes information about the grant as well as an interactive online application that allows potential funds recipients to submit an electronic application that is immediately routed to the NSP team.
Nuisance Abatement Program (NAP) Website Launch
The Wayne County Nuisance Abatement Program (NAP) tackles the problem of blighted and abandoned homes in stable neighborhoods. To make receiving property complaints more efficient, DoT designed and developed a website that includes information about the program as well as an online submission form where visitors can submit information about properties that would be good candidates for the program.
Land Bank PTS Application
The Wayne County Land Bank deals with hundreds of properties located within Wayne County, including HUD, FRI, and TURBO properties. In order to centralize property administration information in one location, DoT designed and developed the Land Bank Property Tracking System. Within this system, Land Bank administrators can enter and remove properties, change details about the properties, change property disposition, and even automatically send the property to auction on the DoT-developed Land Bank Auctions website.
Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program (MFPP)
DoT continues to upgrade the Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program (MFPP) website and application to support the needs of the MFPP program. With updates such as location-specific case routing and flexible reporting capabilities, the website application is becoming increasingly attractive to more government entities wishing to license it for its use.
County Clerk Application Upgrades
In preparation of the move to an eGovernment platform, the County Clerk Vitals applications (Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates) as well as Assumed Names and Concealed Weapons Permit applications have been converted from antiquated platforms to an ASP.NET/SQL technology platform.
Red Dot Content Management System (CMS) Implementation
To streamline web content management processes and automate workflow, the Red Dot Content Management System (CMS) is being implemented for WayneCounty.com as well as other Wayne County online entities. This will remove process bottlenecks and place the ability to update web content in the hands of content providers from the relevant business areas. Additionally, content approval is routed to the appropriate parties and published automatically upon approval.
Open Text Platform Implementation
Serving as the technology platform supporting the CEO’s Paperless Wayne initiative as well as the transition to an eGovernment model, the Open Text platform procurement and upcoming implementation will be the first significant step in both of these initiatives.