HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-05-1995 - X-B t
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ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Action Agenda
Item No Y-R
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: June 5, 1995
SUBJECT: County Automation Plan
DEPARTMENT Data Processing PUBLIC HEARING YES NO X
ATTACHMENT(S) INFORMATION CONTACT
Report Keith Brooks, ext 2276
TELEPHONE NUMBER
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Mebane 227-2031
Durham 688-7331
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PURPOSE: To receive a report on progress in use of automation by
Orange County departments and options/plans for further computer
enhancements.
BACKGROUND: During the March 30, 1995, work session on the 1995-2000
Capital Improvements Plan, the Board of Commissioners raised a number
of questions concerning the County' s future direction in automation.
Staff has prepared the attached report, which discusses the County' s
current automation status; near term plans for additional automation,
based on funding recommended by the Manager for 1995-96 in both the
operating budget and the CIP; and plans for longer term computer
enhancements, represented in the automation requests presented for
consideration in the 1995-2000 CIP. The report covers the current and
future status of both mainframe and personal computer capabilities, and
briefly discusses staff structure and capabilities as well.
RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the
report as information.
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M E M O R A N D U M
To Rod Visser, Assistant County Manager
From: Keith Brooks, Data Processing Manager
Re Current Status of Data Processing
Date: May 31, 1995
1. Equipment History
The County currently has two mainframe systems installed,
a McDonnell Douglas M9255 that was originally installed in 1984,
with a major upgrade in 1989, and an IBM RS6000 530H installed in
July of 1992. The 530H was installed as a replacement for a Prime
P4055 as a way to move into the UNIX environment and solve some of
our networking problems and our connectivity to GIS and/or
Personal Computers. With the 530H, which is a UNIX or .open
architect solution, the County has found many more networking and
connectivity options to choose from. With the Prime, we were
never able to successfully establish a reliable mechanism for
uploading and downloading information between the mainframe and
PCs. The RS6000 has dramatically improved our capability to
accomplish this and to realize efficiencies by making mainframe
databases available for manipulation using PC applications,
instead of creating dual mainframe and PC databases.
Funding for the cost of this 1992 replacement was made
available within the ongoing Data Processing budget by dropping
the maintenance contract on the M9255 (approximately $70,000 per
year) and initiating a third party depot/swap type maintenance.
This generated enough savings over the past three years to pay for
the new IBM 530H and its related maintenance charges with no
increase in the DP operating budget, based on a three year
lease/purchase agreement with IBM.
In 1984 the County had only 12 personal computers. In 1991 the
count had grown to 122- personal computers with 37 printers. The
County currently has 313 personal computers using 147 printers.
There are also 17 personal computer LAN servers which support the
5 installed and working networks (MCI-Whitted, Economic
Development, Budget/Personnel, Child Support Enforcement, and
Register of Deeds Imaging) . Two more networks (Public Works and
E-Mail) are currently being installed.
All County PCs, until this year, had First Choice word
processing installed at delivery time. At this time, all new PCs
being purchased are WINDOWS-ready 486s.
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2. Current Equipment
Mainframe: (2 systems)
M9255 530H
212 Open Ports ( 160 in-use) 128 Open Ports (All in-use)
8 MB Memory 32 MB Memory
6 Disk (2GB Total) 1 2GB Disk
2 1/2 " Tape Drives 1 1/2 Tape Drive
1 8MM Tape Drive 1 8MM Tape Drive
Reality (Pick OS) 65 Universe/Pick License
We currently have all land related systems (Tax Billing, Tax
Collections, Revaluation, Land records, Register of Deeds, etc. )
along with all financial related systems (General Ledger, Payroll,
Personnel, Accounts Payable, etc. ) running on the M9255. We have
the Elections system and all Human Services systems (Health MIS,
Child Support, MCI, etc. ) running on the 5308. We are providing
automation support for the Town of Chapel Hill, on the 530H, and
the Town of Carrboro on the M9255. Chapel Hill is scheduled to
install their own hardware by June 30, 1995, which will allow us
to move Carrboro's application to the 530H.
We are in the process of downloading the Register of Deeds
system to a PC LAN system. With the GIS system due to be online
this fall we are facing several major connectivity problems,
primarily involving access to the tabular data located in the Tax
and Land Record systems on the M9255. We also need to provide
easier access of financial data to our growing base of PC users,
either as standalone or as part of a PC LAN.
The availability of parts to maintain the M9255 is becoming
a problem as those machines have not been manufactured since the
mid to late eighties. Our decision three years ago to abandon the
very expensive maintenance contract has proven extremely
beneficial. During the few outages we have had in that time, our
depot maintenance provider has been very responsive, and DP
operations Countywide have not been adversely affected. Moreover,
the funds that would have been spent to maintain the McDonnell
Douglas contract have instead paid for a new, highly reliable
workhorse mainframe in the RS6000.
Personal Computers: (330 systems)
Human Services Non-Human Services
220 PCs 93 PCs
91 Printers 56 Printers
10 LAN/Printer Servers 7 LAN/Printer Servers
26 WordPerfect or Licenses 37 WordPerfect or Licenses
28 MS Office/Word 0 MS Office/Word
The Data Processing Steering Committee and the Master Client
Index Automation Committee recommended a county-wide WINDOWS
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Environment, along with WordPerfect, Lotus 123, GroupWise Office
Automation or the MS Office Suite, in February of 1995. The Human
Services Management Team adopted a MS Office Suite standard for
all Human Services Departments in March of 1995.
Staffing: (5.6 FTE)
Current authorized positions:
1.0 Data Processing Manager
2 .0 System Analyst
0.6 Programmer/Analyst
1.0 Programer/Operator
1.0 Microcomputer Specialist
The existing staff is still very mainframe oriented, with
only one staff member specifically oriented to personal
computers. However, we are in a transition phase of training
staff to become more efficient in providing PC support. The
addition of the Microcomputer Specialist in 1993 was a tremendous
help. We currently have funding ($5,000 in the CIP) for staff
personal computer type training. Data Processing staff self-
taught themselves, along with some limited formal training, many
of the necessary skills to provide a very good level of support
for our growing PC based users. This is an area we want to focus
special attention on in the next year, as reliance on PCs and
networks will continue to grow. We will also maintain our ability
to support the numerous mainframe applications (e.g. tax, finance,
and land records) that are working extremely well now.
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3. New Options
Mainframe:
The final payment to IBM for the current lease/purchase will be
August 1995. IBM has priced two upgrades for the existing 530H as
outlined below:
1. Upgrade Model 530H to a Model 580H
Double memory size to 64 Meg.
Add second 2GB disk
Cost for this upgrade $30,836
This doubles the internal speed of the processor, doubles
the memory size and doubles the disk size.
2. Upgrade Model 530H to a Model 590H
Quadruple memory size to 128 Meg
Add second 2GB disk
Cost for this upgrade $45,876
This quadruples the internal speed of the processor and the
memory size and doubles the disk size.
The bid process should reduce this cost and if we look at used
equipment we may be looking at a fifty percent discount.
Both options will require the purchase of new Universe/Pick
license at a per unit cost of $235. We will need at least one
hundred new licenses at a minimum cost of $23,500. I would
propose purchasing as many of these with 1994-95 budgeted but
unexpended funds as possible with the balance funded in 1995-96
budget. If the Board approves the Data Processing operating
budget as recommended by the Manager, staff plans to pursue the
upgrade of the RS6000 in 1995-96.
Either option above, including the new licenses, is possible
within the existing DP budget, possibly as a direct purchase or
as a multiyear lease/purchase.
Personal Computers:
In 1991 the County contracted with the UNC School of Social
Work to conduct a feasibility study and assessment for the Human
Services Management Team's Master Client Index File (MCI) . The
recommendation of that study was to automate the client database
of all ten departments as they tend to share and track many of the
same families or persons. They recommended this be accomplished
by installing Local Area Networks (LANs) in each department and
by establishing a Wide Area Network (WAN) to allow sharing of
information between LANs or other buildings.
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Using MCI funds included in the 1992-93 CIP, we requested bids
to evaluate our networking needs and to make a recommendation on
the type and location of LANs to best meet the needs of the Human
Services Departments as identified in the feasibility study of
1991-92. Small Systems Services, a consultant located in Efland,
was awarded the contract and we followed his recommendations of
installing Novell based LANs in the departments and connecting
them together on a County WAN. This is an ongoing project, funded
thru the CIP, which will be completed in 1997-98 budget year as
currently proposed.
As stated above, in section two, we propose to move to a total
WINDOWS networked environment as soon as possible. There are 30
personal computers in the Human Services area and 30 personal
computers in the Non-Human Services area that will not run
WINDOWS and cannot be economically upgraded. In addition, there
are 66 existing PCs that need additional memory (RAM) to run in
the WINDOWS environment.
Options 1-3 would move us to the WINDOWS environment. Options 4-5
would allow for county-wide upgrades on software, phasing out
First Choice, and moving toward WordPerfect, Lotus, or MS Office
Suite.
1. The replacement of 60 WINDOWS ready PCs:
Cost at $1350 each - $81,000
2. The memory upgrading of 66 existing PCs with WINDOWS software:
Cost at approximate $468 each - $30,888
3. The training for the new users of WINDOWS:
Cost to train 126 users at $60 each - $7,560
4. Purchase of software or software upgrades:
Cost - $40,000
5. Staff training on new software:
500 training sessions @ $60. - $30,000
Estimated cost. . . . $189,448
The funding to accomplish all these upgrades are currently in
the Manager's recommended 1995-96 budget and the recommended 1995-
2000 CIP. If the budgets are approved as presented, the PC
upgrades and training would be completed by the 1997-98 fiscal
year.
Any shift of funding or addition of funds could accelerate the
upgrade schedule.
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4. Major Benefits
Mainframe:
The County would be moving totally to a new UNIX environment.
The Model 590H, the one proposed in option two, was just released
in August of 1994 . UNIX was designed from the very beginning with
multiuser and multitasking as a primary goal. The UNIVERSE
database currently used on the existing RS6000 530H was designed
to replace the old McDonnell Douglas database, so it runs our
existing applications with very few changes and our DP staff will
continue to work with a programming language very familiar to
them. Again, if the budget is approved as recommended, staff will
pursue an upgraded RS6000, which will permit us to discontinue the
costs associated with operations and maintenance of the McDonnell
Douglas. All County mainframe applications would be moved to the
RS6000, with the ability to upload and download much of the data
that now resides on the McDonell Douglas directly to and from PCs,
without the labor intensive requirement of special programming.
By way of example, the County's annual operating budget, which is
now prepared on a Lotus-driven PC network in the Budget Office,
could be uploaded directly to the RS6000 to create the general
ledger for 1995-96. With the McDonnell Douglas, every line item
for every County department that has been keyed into the
Budget network must also be keyed into the mainframe to create
next year's general ledger. With the additional space available
from an upgraded RS6000, all applications could run on one
mainframe with some excellent opportunities for efficiencies
created.
Either upgrade option will support direct ETHERNET connectivity
to our GIS system and to our LANs currently used in several County
offices. The new system will enhance countywide staff efficiency
by allowing database information access to our growing PC LAN
users.
Personal Computers:
The purchase of new personal computer equipment, upgrading the
existing equipment, and purchasing new software and training staff
on the use of this new software, would allow for moving to the
county-wide WINDOWS environment recommended by the Data Processing
Steering Committee, the MCI Automation Committee, and the Human
Services Management Team. This standardization will allow for
better and more effective use of staff time in the delivery of
services to the citizens of Orange County.
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ATTACHMENT A
The enclosed three spreadsheets detail the Data Processing
equipment, both mainframe and personal computer, as installed
or as will be installed based on the manager's recommended
1995-96 budget and 1996-2000 CIP.
1 . The equipment as of June 30, 1995. This reflects all
equipment authorized in the 1994-95 budget or the 1994-99
CIP.
2 . The equipment as of June 30, 1996. This reflects all
equipment recommended in the 1995-96 budget or the 1994-
2000 CIP.
3. The equipment as of June 30, 1998 . This reflects all
equipment as recommended in the 1996-2000 CIP.
At best, this is a planning document as the Counties
equipment needs are very dynamic and tend to shift from year
to year based on priorities and needs .
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ATTACHMENT B
The following is a list of mainframe and PC applications used
in the equipment spreadsheets.
MAINFRAME APPLICATIONS
AC/MIS - Animal Control Management Information System (MIS)
used to track animal licensing for the County.
Tracks all animals, issues quarterly bills, and
accounts for revenue collected.
BUDGET - Budget prep application. Mostly done on PC but uses
control files on mainframe.
CA/MIS - MIS for the Town of Carrboro. Duplicates County
applications with some minor changes .
CH/MIS - MIS for the Town of Chapel Hill . Purchased by the
Town in 1993 and scheduled to be off our system by
6/30/95 .
CPS/MIS- MIS for Child Protection Services . Used to track
clients, families and perpetrators . Developed in-
house as first Departmental solution under MCI .
CS/MIS - MIS for Child Support used to track families with
support orders . Maintains payment history.
ENVIR - MIS for Environmental Health.
GL/MIS - MIS for Finance, Purchasing and Budget. Includes
Inventory, Fixed Assets, General Ledger, Accounts
Payable, Purchase Orders and Vehicle Maintenance.
Also has Countywide inquiry for all departments .
HD/MIS - MIS for Health Department. Tracks clients, maintains
statistics, does State reports, generates
appointments and interfaces with MCI . This
application is used by several other counties across
the State.
HO/MIS - MIS for Section 8 portion of Housing and Community
Development. Purchased S/W.
LR/MIS - MIS for Land Records. Maintains a database of land
related information shared by the ROD/MIS and
TAX/MIS.
MCI - MIS for all Human Services Departments . Master
Client Index.
MINDX - MIS for Commissioners Office. Used to maintain the
minutes index and the Boards and Commissions data.
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PL/MIS - MIS for Planning. Used for project tracking,
erosion control, building permits and inspections.
PR/PER - MIS for Finance and Personnel . Used for payroll and
personnel tracking and control.
ROD/MIS- MIS for the Register of Deeds . Used for vital
statistics, jury selection and document indexing.
We are in the process of interfacing the document
index to the new PC based Optical Imaging System
SH/MIS - MIS for Sheriff. Used for management reports,
tracking civil papers, gun permit and jail canteen.
Will be replaced by PC based VISIONS S/W in 1995-96.
Used by a few other counties across the State.
TAX/MIS- MIS for Assessor, Tax collector and Revenue office.
Used to do in-house revaluation, tax billing, motor
vehicle billing, tax collections and other type
revenue collecting and control.
VOT/MIS- MIS for Board of Elections . Used to maintain the
registered voter database, assign precincts and do
election night reporting.
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PERSONAL COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
ABBRA - Applicant tracking software used by Personnel.
Purchased S/W.
AG/MIS - MIS for aging. Developed in-house by Director of
Aging.
CTS - Transportation scheduler and monitoring used by
Aging and provided by the State.
EDC/MIS- MIS for Economic Development Office. Used to track
clients or prospective clients. Develop in-house by
outside consultant.
GRAPMAP- Plotting system for Land Records. Used to plot all
deeds.
PMC - MIS for Public Works. Used to track vehicles and
other equipment (air conditioners,etc) and create
work orders.
ROD/OPT- Optical Imaging System for the Register of Deeds.
Purchase S/W.
PHONE - Telephone charge back system for Central Services.
Provided by the telephone company and interfaces
with our switchboard.
DB - Database software. First Choice, DBase IV and ACCESS.
GR - Graphics software. First Publisher, Harvard Graphics,
POWERPOINT and ALDUS Pagemaker.
OA - Office Automation. Novell's GROUPWISE.
SS - Spreadsheet software. First Choice, LOTUS and
EXCELL.
WP - Wordprocessing software. First Choice, WordPerfect and
MS-Word.
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