Technology Advisory Committee

TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Draft Minutes Meeting of January 2, 2020 Present: Councilman Anthony Mangiafico, Councilman Grady Faulkner, Roger Palmer, Bryan Skowera, Michael Skott Absent: Councilman Tony Gennaro, Foster Charles, Lauren Middleton Call to Order: Councilman Faulkner called the meeting to order at 7:05pm. Approval of Minutes: Motion was given to waive the reading of the minutes by Roger Palmer. Councilman Anthony Mangiafico seconded the motion. The motion is passed. Motion was given to approve minutes by Roger Palmer. Councilman Anthony Mangiafico seconded the motion. The motion is passed. Public Comments No one from the public was in attendance. Old Business: No old business to conduct. New Business Introduction of Committee Members and Staff Bryan described what members’ make up the TAC. Three Council members, three members of the public and three employees of the City of Middletown outside of the IT Technology Services department. Members now consist of: Councilman Grady Faulkner, Councilman Anthony Mangiafico, Councilman Tony Gennaro, Roger Palmer (city employee), Bryan Skowera (staff), Michael Skott (staff), Foster Charles (member of the public) and Lauren Middleton (member of the public). Bryan noted the two vacancies on the committee which he hopes will be filled by the next council meeting Election of Chair and Vice Chair Motion is declared to delay the vote by Councilman Anthony Mangiafico until the two committee vacancies are filled. The motion is seconded by Roger Palmer. The motion is passed. Meeting Schedule for Calendar Year 2020 Motion is declared to accept the meeting schedule for the 2020 calendar year by Anthony Mangiafico. The motion was seconded by Roger Palmer. The motion is passed. Meeting will be held the first Thursday of every month at 6:00pm. The motion is passed. Discussion of Vacancies on the Committee Bryan said Joe Samolis, Director of Planning, and Conservation and Development has been put on the appointment list for the common council as well as Karen Warren, Deputy CIO of Wesleyan University. P a g e | 1 of 3 This will leave one vacancy left open, to which is a requirement that the vacancy be filled by an employee of the cCity of Middletown that who is not registered as a dDemocrat. Brian Robillard or someone from Water & Sewer Department was suggested. There will be a discussion on who will be best to fill the employee vacancy. Review of the Committee’s Charges A discussion on the duties of the committee ensued. The first charge focused on the committee reviewing Technology Services’having a three to five year strategic plan. This charge will cover making sure policies are reviewed on a regular basis and adding social media to this plan. Bryan will meet with the mMayor to discuss in more detail a strategic plan for the TAC.initiatives that should be included. The second charge: Disaster Backup and Recovery Plan:. The plan relies consists of on work by the Records Management Committee, TAC & Emergency Management Incident Response. It covers both physical disruptions and cyber disruptions to the city. Bryan will investigate what emergency plan is in place and bring a summary for the next meeting for review. Third, fourth and fifth charges: To prioritize monthly the work to be accomplished by the IT Technology Services department and any discuss changes to infrastructure and computer systems, as well as making decisions regarding major software and hardware changes. This should be handled by discussing high- level projects for the department. The Sixth charge: Bryan will share with this committee our the Technology Services’ budget and will answer any questions and concerns. The Seventh charge: Review the IT Technology Services’Department’s structure and make recommendations to the appropriate authority. This does not need to be revisited at this time. However, concerns will be addressed as needed. The Eighth charge: Develop and Publish City Policies. Discussion of any gaps in policies can take place as needed. The Ninth charge: Work with the Board of Education, Police, Fire or any other City Department to find ways to help the city save money. Currently, the City and BOE are collaborating on a new security system. The Tenth charge: Act on all matters referred to it by the Common Council. The Eleventh charge: Review processes to increase public accessibility. Currently, there is more information available to the public on the city’s web page, community organizations ties can share their events online, and prospective employees and can submit job applications as opposed to dropping off a physical copy to city hall. Six pPublic kiosks are now available to the public for use at city hall. Policy: Social Media Usage: This policy was created as a procedure on how to communicate with the public. It was borrowed heavily from the Police Department social media policy as well as peer institutesinstiutions. Individual departments can maintain their own social media presence if there is a business need. There will be a list of responsibilities and best practices that need to be followed. This policy will empower departments to share their successes and news on the city website. Policy: Emails for Elected Officials and Committee Members: This is a directive that is in progress. Email addresses (@MiddletownCT.gov) for about forty commission and committee members need to be P a g e | 2 of 3 established so that they are able to conduct their business to protect us from legal liability, to maintain more transparency in government and to respond to FOI requests. Packets will be given to departments in sealed envelopes each containing the government email address assigned to each committee member. The staff of each commission and committee will distribute these packets during their next meeting. Because of the increase in number of email addresses and the challenges faced with verifying the identities of committee members, there is a concern about password reset requests. To that end, we’re looking into a password manager program called PWM that will automate password resets for committee members and city employees. Discussion of Items to be Placed on the Next Agenda Bryan will bring the following to the next meeting for discussion: - Information regarding the current state of the Disaster and Backup Recovery Plan from Formatted: Indent: Left: 0.5", No bullets or numbering Emergency Management. - The Budget for FY2021 - Provide updates on existing policies - Have the election of the Chair and Vice Chair Formatted: Font: Times New Roman Formatted: Normal, No bullets or numbering - Will provide a list of major projects funded by the bond and CNRDisaster, backup and recovery plan Formatted: Font: Bold - FY21 budget Formatted: Font: Bold - Social media policy Formatted: Font: Bold - Discussion of major projects Formatted: Font: Bold - Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Formatted: Font: Bold - Formatted: Font: Times New Roman Adjournment Motion by Councilman Grady Faulkner to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Roger Palmer. The motion is passed. The Committee adjourned at 7:14 pm. 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