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000006 Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2006 Page 6 Tony Williams told Council that we have to process a significant amount of information in our day -to -day business. We have generations of criminal histories, vital statistics, utilities, treatment processes and accounting records. In many ways, our departments have acted independently of each other, making us incompatible with software. Our past history reflects that we are spending about $200,000.00 a year on IT. We do not have a plan as to what we want our system to be, thus we have spent money on computer software that is no longer utilized. We need to have a plan in order to make us more productive and efficient. Tony informed Council that we could save money through our purchasing process. He told Council he was not asking for a budget adjustment, but rather a departmental status. Tony said we have 202 vehicles and 35 pieces of mobile equipment. He said that our maintenance program had consisted of an annual agreement as to who was going to do the oil changes every 3,000 miles. He said there was not a preventive maintenance program, because they were not doing maintenance on brakes, hoses, belts or rear -ends. He said we need a maintenance schedule for our buildings. Council Member Ray said we did away with positions less than a year ago, because we could not afford to keep them. Tony said he needed someone with a expertise level to accomplish development of this plan and that we did not have someone on staff with that level of expertise.- Council Member Manning wanted to know if we still had a technology committee and Tony answered in the affirmative. Council Member Wilson said he did not think the technology group understood what was needed, because money was wasted on - software that was not compatible. Council Member Manning said he requested additional information; however, he still does not know what line item the money is going to come from, nor does he know how much money we can save. Council Member Manning told Tony he. should implement organized purchasing. Council Member Manning informed Council there is a Local Government Assistance Program that would evaluate the City and make recommendations as to the operation. He said there is no fee for this service. Tony said he was familiar with the program, but that we need real dollar savings. Council Member Manning said the evaluation is more than just about money, in that Local Government Code 102.011 states the city budget should be filed with the County Clerk. He further said they could give us suggestions about maintenance and purchasing. Council Member Manning said he did not think that one person could have the expertise in all three areas. Council Member Ray agreed with Council Member Manning. Council Member Ray told Tony he needed to control what the departments were spending. Council Member Wilson said Tony Williams had managed the City well and significantly improved the debt. Council Member Wilkerson said her opposition was not with IT. She stated that she did not think that someone that was knowledgeable to put together a plan, is going to want to supervise the other positions. She said these tasks are already under department heads. Council Member Wilkerson also said the department heads had improved in the last eighteen months, but need