isc - cuyahoga county, ohio

Cuyahoga County Information Services CenterFrank Russo, Cuyahoga County Auditor/Administrator

Dan Weaver, Director

1255 Euclid Avenue4th Floor

Cleveland, OH 44115

ISCAnnual Report

2008 - 2009

1

Table of Contents

Mission Statement 3

Finances

2009 Expenditures 5

2007-2008 Expenditures 6

2008 Revenues 7

Reports

Director‟s Office 9

Web & Video 10

Communications Infrastructure 15

Network Engineering 18

Project Management 22

Operations 25

Research and Security 28

Business Administration 30

Webhits

2008 Webhits by Total 34

2008 Webhits by Agency 35

3 Year Webhits Comparison 36

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Mission Statement

are dedicated to providing County

agencies with the technology to

better serve citizens and save taxpayer dollars.

We

4

FINANCES

5

2009 Expenditures

Payroll Salaries 6,002,981

Fringe Benefits 1,992,309

Workers' Compensation

Unemployment Compensation

Flex Benefits

Retirement - PERS

Medicare

Operating Costs

Office Supplies, Commodities 300,445

Contracts 2,819,075

Other Expenses 549,387

Controlled Charges 974,050

Indirect Costs

Space Maintenance

Capital Expenses 531,255

ISC Appropriation 13,169,502

Users' Supply, 2009 Appropriation 529,933

Communications/Telecommunications 3,105,454

Encumbrances, pre-encumbrances , ISC: 1,503,315

Encumbrances, pre-encumbrances ,Users' Supplies: 570,475

Encumbrances,pre-encumbrances, Communications/Telecomm 1,868,302

Grand Total for ISC, Users Supply and Communications Budgets 20,746,981

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2007-2008 Expenditures

Expenses Expenses

Payroll

Salaries 6,075,859 6,206,734

Workers' Compensation 38,348 47,283

Unemployment Compensation 0 0

Flex Benefits 909,748 933,536

Retirement - PERS 840,685 857,996

Medicare 71,255 73,549

Retirement - ERIP 66,636 0

Subtotal 8,002,531 8,119,098

Operating Costs

Office Supplies 86,963 91,749

Electricity 211,602 255,796

Telephone 92,408 73,742

Travel/Conferences/Training/Education 83,352 110,051

Fast Copy 6,100 4,894

Postage 2,075 5,096

Vehicle Expense 8,559 8,578

Software 363,919 186,576

Publications 0 134

Prof Dues & Subscrip 624 248

Advertising 3,137 2,684

Other Expenses 1,305 17,834

Printing 4,997 7,822

Building Rental 703,756 771,802

Subtotal 1,568,797 1,537,006

County Charges

Indirect Costs 1,088,118 974,050

Space Maintenance 0 612,561

Subtotal 1,088,118 1,586,611

Capital Expenses

ADP Development 670,736 195,469

Equipment 462,922 647,730

Office Machines 1,095 553

Subtotal 1,134,753 843,752

Contracts

Contractual Services,maint & repair 1,662,456 1,899,280

WAN 604,244 523,707

Subtotal 2,266,700 2,422,987

ISC Total 13,282,598 14,283,991

User's Supply Total 778,301 225,465

Communications/Telecommunications 2,030,029 2,279,869

Grand Total for ISC and Agencies 16,090,928 16,789,325

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2008 Revenue

Agency 2008 Prior Years 2008

Total Revenue Adjustment Adjusted Revenue

County Administrator $154,532.62 $24,009.00 $178,541.62

Alcohol & Drug Board $1,055.00 $56.00 $1,111.00

Court of Appeals $52,363.60 $4,183.00 $56,546.60

Archives $33,798.28 $811.00 $34,609.28

Auditor/General Fund $1,026,753.14 $7,742.00 $1,034,495.14

Auditor/Non-General Fund $564,116.44 $304,451.00 $868,567.44

Auditor/AU150045 $88,424.24 $4,814.00 $93,238.24

Auditor/AU800011 $61,475.96 $4,118.00 $65,593.96

Board of Health $75.00 $0.00 $75.00

Board of Elections $416,509.33 $22,368.00 $438,877.33

Board of Revision $64,881.66 $3,675.00 $68,556.66

Clerk of the Board $19,153.56 $1,770.00 $20,923.56

Court of Common Pleas $1,630,830.05 $96,675.00 $1,727,505.05

Community Development $116,451.12 $0.00 $116,451.12

Clerk of Courts $501,865.63 $35,185.00 $537,050.63

County Airport $8,700.20 $986.00 $9,686.20

Commissioners $422,450.07 $48,463.00 $470,913.07

Coroner $475,460.27 $21,918.00 $497,378.27

CSEA (Child Supp. Enforcement) $70,304.49 $2,982.00 $73,286.49

Central Services $747,339.71 $46,041.00 $793,380.71

Domestic Relations $302,954.43 $23,224.00 $326,178.43

Early Childhood Investment $10,672.60 ($3.00) $10,669.60

Engineer $18,192.50 $0.00 $18,192.50

H.S. Adult & Senior Programs $126,729.61 $10,519.00 $137,248.61

H.S. Childrens Services $656,470.88 $102,872.00 $759,342.88

H.S. Work & Training $1,378,380.40 $319,144.00 $1,697,524.40

Justice Affairs $2,064,424.90 $372,735.00 $2,437,159.90

Juvenile Court $1,258,732.03 $95,729.00 $1,354,461.03

Labor Relations $26,704.10 $98.00 $26,802.10

Law Library $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Mental Health Board $20,427.36 $113.00 $20,540.36

Office of Budget & Management $54,101.12 $4,490.00 $58,591.12

Office of Economic Development $58,354.92 ($1,553.00) $56,801.92

Office of Homeless Services $10,114.40 $956.00 $11,070.40

Personnel $454,126.40 ($14,804.00) $439,322.40

Planning Commission $103,175.72 $5,573.00 $108,748.72

Probate Court $80,677.16 $5,519.00 $86,196.16

Prosecutor $784,541.52 $42,108.00 $826,649.52

Public Defender $300,095.42 $23,323.00 $323,418.42

Central Purchasing $92,920.92 $6,185.00 $99,105.92

Recorder $253,271.68 $13,051.00 $266,322.68

Sanitary Engineer $91,411.31 ($11,204.00) $80,207.31

Sheriff $961,674.70 $62,785.00 $1,024,459.70

Treasurer $385,548.11 $19,208.00 $404,756.11

Veterans Service Commission $104,848.09 $5,917.00 $110,765.09

Workforce Development $158,559.86 $8,608.00 $167,167.86

Solid Waste Management $10,813.42 $757.00 $11,570.42

ISC $57,170.16 $0.00 $57,170.16

MISC $5.03 $0.00 $5.03

TOTALS $16,281,639.12 $1,725,597.00 $18,007,236.12

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REPORTS

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Director’s Office

The Director‟s office manages the daily operations of the Information Services Center. It

retains a staff that facilitates the following verticals: policy creation; strategic planning; website

management; software development; network engineering; security, project management,

contract management; WAN management; unified communications, and data center operations.

Goals for 2009

Our goals for 2009 are to continue to improve customer service, IT planning, and cost

management though the virtualization of our data center environment. Virtualization of servers

delivers high availability, resiliency, flexibility, and scalability. We will partner with local

governments to achieve greater savings and implement common IT solutions that will improve

workforce productivity.

STAFF

Director’s Office

Dan Weaver, Director

Katie Schmitz, Director‟s Administrative Assistant

Information Technology Departments

Linda Lingler, Chief Technology Officer

Erin Patton, CTO Administrative Assistant

Tom Basco, Network Engineering Administrator

Joyce Coffman, Operations Administrator

Debbie Davtovich, Web, Video, Development

Administrator

Joe Hernandez, Security Analyst – Acting Security

Manager

Stan Kozlowski, PMO Manager

Paul Taraba, WAN and Communications

Administrator

Business Department

Mary Lou Dowling, Business Administrator

Personnel Department

Erin Spies, Personnel Administrator

2008 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Oracle Award – 2008 GIS

A massive IT makeover was implemented for the

Coroner's Office. Installs include a 10Mb WAN

connection, VoIP phone system, multiple new LANs,

workstation deployments for all staff, and business

application installs.

Saved $300,000 by moving to in-house management of

nine WAN security sensors.

Video-conferencing deployment to 48 endpoints

across the county and to local courts and police.

Improvement in application development methods

utilizing .NET framework; ASP.Net, VB.NET and C#;

all resulted in rapid application builds.

Expansion of Videography Services where the positive

“stories” of the county were captured and presented

in many media formats and to a variety of media

outlets.

New Email filter system reduced useless email traffic

by over 194 million messages and blocked over 14

million threats from external sources.

Successful updating for the z890 platform included

CICS, IMS and zOS, making them compatible with zOS

1.9. operating system.

Purchased a second fiber ring with two loops that

connect 8 buildings for less than 1/3 of its market

value.

Negotiated upgrades that include expansion of VoIP,

new wireless deployments, bandwidth increases to

CRIS and other county endpoints.

Chaired various IT councils and committees such as

JTC, Arch. & Tech., BOCC ITPD.

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Web & Video Department

Services provided by the Web group include web design, graphic design, professional

photography, application development, and video production. We are an internal service

provider, serving agency needs for a public web presence as well as internal applications and

various communication needs. Our diverse staff is uniquely equipped to analyze an agency‟s

business needs and provide simple, creative solutions at costs well below industry standards.

Goals for 2009

Our goal moving forward in 2009 is to expand on the solid foundation we have built, deliver

more secure and scalable websites and applications, expand business infrastructure over the

web, facilitate information sharing between agencies, expand our video presence, and create

live video streaming capabilities. Because our designers and developers are working smarter,

not harder, we are able to adapt to these difficult economic times and „do more with less‟,

providing agencies with the technologies they need at a price they can afford.

STAFF

Management

Debbie Davtovich, Administrator

Eric Paliwoda, Manager

Developers

Lucy Beasley, Developer 1

Achinta Bhattacharya, Developer 1

Sergey Efraim, Developer 1

David Lea, Developer 2

Konstantin Tamashin, Developer 2

G. Patrick Zhu, Developer 3

Graphic Designers

Mysa Afaneh, Designer 2

Tansy Cowan, Maintenance Technician

Dana Green, Designer 2

Adam Harvey, Designer 2

Videographers

Jonathan Shick, Developer 1

Gregory Wilson, Designer 2


Implemented standards and best practices

Created a Single Sign on application that allows all

internally written browser applications to share the same

sign in process

Deployed 12 new content managed websites

Implemented SharePoint and set up sites to enable

internal agencies to collaborate and share information

Deployed a number of online registration applications for

various county events

Developed a system that allows the Planning Commission

to rank and distribute DOPWIC grant dollars

Developed a system that helps the Treasurer manage the

sales of tax liens

Developed a system that automates state reporting

functions for Weights and Measures

Developed the MyHR portal as a .NET application that

provides County employees with ability to perform

various HR functions on the web

Developed a variety of new applications for voters and

candidates to be able to retrieve customized data and

information online

Supported a variety of legacy applications

Updated over 60 individual agency websites with new

content

Produced several public service announcements for radio,

TV and the web

Created a Cuyahoga County You-Tube Channel and

uploaded a variety of agency videos

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2008 Web & Video Department Accomplishments

While we are proud of the success the web group has enjoyed over the past several years, we

are more enthusiastic about recent accomplishments, and are confident we have strategically

prepared ourselves for future growth. This article will explain many of the positive changes we

have made over the past year that will ultimately benefit the many agencies we proudly serve.

Improvements in Application Development Methods

In 2008, the ISC implemented new hardware and software

platforms for the development and hosting of County web sites,

intranets, and custom written software applications. Prior to 2008,

the ISC programmers were coding in Visual Basic, and Classic ASP.

All new applications written by the ISC developers in 2008 have

utilized Microsoft‟s .NET Framework; asp.NET being used to code

web and intranet applications, and VB.NET and C# being used for

coding business layers, web services and code behinds. AJAX and

CSS are being used extensively, resulting in more dynamic,

interactive web sites and applications that use less bandwidth and

load much more quickly. Additionally, a large body of pre-coded solutions, controls, classes

and tools allow for code re-use, resulting in shorter development time and rapid application

builds.

Implementation of Standards and Best Practices

In order to ensure the a successful transition and benefit from the many advantages offered

with this new environment, the web group implemented best practices and standards in 2008

for build processes, coding, design patterns, source control and unit testing. Utilization of these

practices and proven technologies has resulted in more high-quality code, better software

quality and performance, and easier maintenance. Transitioning older web sites and applications

written in classic ASP and HTML from the legacy platform to the new platform is in process.

Some systems will remain on the legacy platform until they are deprecated.

Implementation of Content Managed Websites

The ISC web designers have also had to adapt to new changes in 2008. All new web sites

published in 2008 have utilized Synapse Publisher, a content management software program that

supports the creation, management, distribution, publishing, and archiving of information. The

use of this software is in conjunction with our unified content strategy for website development

dramatically lowers the cost of production, and delivers sites that are accessible to more

people and more types of Internet devices. Sites developed along these lines will continue to

function correctly as traditional desktop browsers evolve, and as new Internet devices come to

market.

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Our designers no longer create site templates in Photoshop and Dreamweaver, but, like the

developers, use Visual Studio, an integrated design and debugging environment that provides

comprehensive tools for web design and development. In this regard, the hard line between

the web designer and the web developer has blurred. Web designers today are expected to

have more than a just concrete understanding of artistic fundamentals such as line, form,

texture, contrast, typography, design patterns, color theory, and how to create and manipulate

images for the web. Today‟s designers must also have a solid working knowledge of markup

language and CSS in order to manage the structure of the site, the appearance of the published

pages, and the navigation provided to the users.

More Organized and Efficient Coding

The use of advanced CSS techniques in combination with our content management tools has

resulted in improved content accessibility, flexibility and better control of presentation. Prior

to CSS, nearly all of the presentational attributes of web pages were contained within the

HTML markup; all font colors, background styles, element alignments, borders and sizes had to

be explicitly described, often repeatedly, within the HTML. Today, multiple pages share

formatting via a single instance of code. This change not only reduces the complexity and

repetition in structural content, it facilitates site wide maintenance, and results in faster page

loads and better search engine optimization.

Implementation of SharePoint Websites

In addition to the many new and redesigned websites published this

year, several SharePoint sites were created for internal use.

SharePoint is a browser-based collaboration and workspace tool

that is ideal for managing multiple projects, deadlines, tasks and

shared documents. It has a robust permissions structure; access

and capabilities can be set based on organizational role, team

membership, interest, security group, or any other membership

criteria that can be defined. Views of different collections of

information can be easily filtered, grouped, and/or sorted by each

member according to their current needs. Our web group uses

SharePoint for our team announcements, sharing documents, discussion boards, and project

tracking. It is an invaluable tool for the administration of multiple projects, each having

numerous tasks, resource assignments, and due dates.

Expansion of Video Services

While many of our agencies think the video department is „new‟, it is actually embarking upon

its 4th year, offering a wide range of visual communications, media production and post-

production services. Strengths revolve around the ability to take complex concepts and

transform them into straightforward video productions. Services include the creation of

documentary style video shorts, video press releases, public service announcements, education

and informational videos, and event coverage for workshops, conferences, and news events.

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The goal of the Video Department is to tell the positive “stories” of the county and its agencies,

programs, employees and residents. The diverse range of quality services the county provides

is testament to the exceptional people that do important work for our community. The video

department is committed to capturing these stories and sharing them with the public. In 2008

a Cuyahoga County YouTube Channel was developed to showcase all the videos produced for

the County. To give the videos greater exposure, a link to the YouTube Channel was added to

the county‟s main website. In addition, the videographers and graphic designers have been

working together to better integrate unique video elements into many of the individual agency

websites.

Project Highlight for 2009: Employee Self Service

One of the bigger projects the web group is undertaking this year is the MyHR Employee Self

Service (ESS) Project. The MyHR website was first used by county employees to designate

charitable contributions to Charity Choice via payroll deduction in 2006. Open Enrollment

followed Charity Choice in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 the web group will be developing a

Paperless Time Keeping system that will be added to the MyHR site and linked to SAP web

services. The paperless timesheet project will be an online time, attendance and leave

management system that will provide employees, supervisors and managers with attendance,

scheduling and leave management information.

Employees will be able to electronically record multiple time in and out sessions per day

securely via the web. A time validation feature will lock out entry of unapproved leave time,

including sick and vacation. Employees will also be able to submit leave requests online, and

view real time leave balance information. This functionality will eliminate the need for paper

time sheets and associated documentation to be submitted to payroll and personnel staff to be

keyed into SAP by hand.

Included in the ESS project are additional enhancements for performance management, training

and employee development. This exciting new functionality will be critical in contributing to

the success of the County in the face of declining budgets, reduced staffing, and the exit of key

personnel under the Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) program.

Other projects and initiatives slated for 2009 include:

1. Upgrade and enhance the Cuyahoga County Healthy Start application, an online application

accessed by individual applicants and community centers. Healthy Start provides free health

insurance for low to moderate income families with children up to age 19.

2. Begin work on a new „turbo-tax‟ type application for the Child Support Enforcement

Agency. This new self-service program will guide potential applicants through a

customized interview, prepare the exact documents they need, and guide them through

the appropriate steps for their situation. The online application will eliminate the amount

of time clientele spend in the office filling out paperwork and meeting with caseworkers.

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3. Expand our video presence on the web, specifically via more Video Press Releases. This

medium will allow county officials to speak directly to the public on important issues and

provide information on new initiatives or updates on existing projects -- an economical and

effective way for departments to communicate a message.

4. Expansion and enhancement of unified content strategy for website development. We will

continue to convert agency websites over to our content management system, begin

cross-populating sites with relevant content, develop RSS feeds, allow residents and visitors

to sign up for email alerts and electronic newsletters, and provide more interactive

services. We anticipate more content will be available for the non-English speaking

populations in Cuyahoga County, a project that is easily facilitated through our new

content managed approach.

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Communications Infrastructure Department

The Communication Infrastructure department provides Network planning for Local Area

Networks (LANs) and the County‟s Wide Area Network (WAN), as well as equipment

implementation/support for all electronic communication devices. The equipment in the WAN

and LAN infrastructure is made up of 1500 switches and routers, and roughly 15 miles of fiber-

optic cable. We provide monitoring, maintenance, planning and coordination for all VoIP

activities, supporting over 3000 phones across 40 buildings. This includes all 1200 cell phones,

blackberries and pagers for the county. The department is also answers approximately 700 calls

per day through the County‟s main contact number. We provide scheduling, monitoring and

maintenance for 48 video conferencing endpoints deployed thus far.

Goals for 2009

Our goals for next year are to expand the County‟s infrastructure capabilities in addition to

data and voice. We will make all modes of communications seamless and streamlined. We plan

to roll out VoIP to edge locations and reduce the cost of phone service. We will continue to

support all communication electronics to ensure optimal performance. We will install wireless

in key county building to enhance workforce productivity while maintaining a secure network.

STAFF

Management

Paul Taraba, Administrator

Andy Molls, Manager Communications

Joe Zysek, Manager Wide Area Network

Communications

Tomika Ballard, Service Rep. CNE

Melissa Carlin, Service Rep.

Jim DiFranco, Communication Analyst 3

Trip Gaul, Communication Analyst 1

Dan Gerstenslager, Communication Analyst 1

Regina Hannett, Service Rep.

Maurice Hereford, Communication Analyst1

Beverley Mays, Service Rep.

Jason Nagy, Communication Analyst 1

Sabine Respress, Coordinator 2

Wide Area Network

Brian, Devine, Com/Wan Engineer

Candy Gibbons, Senior Com/Wan Engineer

Justin Kresty, Com/Wan Engineer

Ty Pestello, Com/Wan Engineer

Video Conferencing

Joe Kosar, Video Conferencing Engineer


Negotiated a new Wide Area Contract that includes

expansion of VoIP, new wireless deployments, bandwidth

increases to CRIS and other county endpoints.

Negotiated a new cell phone contract that combines

all the cell minutes for the county.

Purchased a second fiber ring at a 67% discount. This

connection serves 8 buildings and extends the County‟s

fiber range from E. 40th Street to the Superior Viaduct.

WAN and LAN infrastructure has been upgraded to

higher speeds so the County can leverage its investments

to run VoIP, Video and Data on the same set of

equipment.

IP Cameras are being added to the current network for

Sheriff security monitoring.

Deployed 125 new routers and switches for the new

WAN.

New Technology: Coarse Wavelength Division

Multiplexing (CWDM) will be deployed in 2009 on the

additional fiber purchased; this increases our bandwidth to

1Gb.

An audit of all phone lines and bills was conducted for

accuracy and usage. This audit continues to produce

savings every month.

Implementations include the deployment of 150 new

switches and routers; installed monitoring software for

data and VoIP network; created a web based cell phone

ordering application and call handling system that tracks

incoming calls.

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2008 Communications Accomplishments

Phone Standardization and Cost Recovery

The Information Services Center has been working on two

mission critical initiatives since 2004; Phone

Standardization and Cost Recovery for Cuyahoga County.

These are two significant areas of concern that go hand in

hand which have cost the county millions of dollars as well

as major audit issues. Our goal is to finally clean up,

centralize the communications process, and save taxpayer

dollars.

The ISC took the first step by eliminating multiple vendors

and long-term leasing agreements as well as monthly

charges for legacy equipment and services. Next, we consolidated key providers to take control

of our asset spending and start leveraging within local markets. Lastly, with the deployment of

Voice over Internet Protocol technology, since 2004 we are closing in on standardizing phones

throughout Cuyahoga County.

In 2008 the ISC submitted a WAN RFP which was awarded to two local vendors,

OneCommunity and Global Crossing Communications. These two companies will be

responsible for supporting the county‟s new network infrastructure. With their state of the art

network we can now converge our voice, data and video services, ensuring higher quality and

reduced costs. Both corporations have a large local community presence and many service

partners who are committed to providing cost effective solutions that support county

operations.

In 2004 we implemented VoIP technology in order to clean up existing services and produce

cost savings. As part of the process to eliminate unused phones lines and services, we have

performed audits at every agency. So far, the audit results have been overwhelming, yet the

county has still produced savings. The ISC contracted Spyglass Inc., specialists in

telecommunication audits, to help expedite this process. Over the past several months Spyglass

has uncovered billing inconsistencies and overages. Correcting these inconsistencies has already

produced significant savings. With collaborative efforts from their staff and the Communication

Team we should be able to re-establish inventory control, maintain fixed invoicing, and diminish

unnecessary costs by the second quarter of 2009.

Five years ago, the ISC management committed to change the culture of telecommunications

within Cuyahoga County by implementing VOIP technology. This major decision had many

obstacles, but has paid off in the long run. As the savings and benefits have been recognized, our

level of confidence in this technology has grown tremendously. We anticipate completing our

deployment to the entire county by fourth quarter 2009. We look forward to making 2010 an

even more profitable year.

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Securing the WAN

The existing wide area network consisted of a hub and spoke environment. This segment of the

network, in most cases was comprised of a single data circuit rated at 1.544mb. These data

circuits were used as ingress/egress to the remote agencies. With the agency's growth and

expanded service offering from the ISC, there was demand for additional bandwidth. The latest

WAN RFP made that happen.

Within the RFP were designed bandwidth increases to the remote locations of 5, 10 and close

to 20 times what was currently installed. These bandwidth enhancements will allow us to take

advantage of the cost savings initiatives such as Voice over IP and video conferencing.

With more service offerings we also purchased and installed new routers at each agency to

handle the additional network load and services.

Security is also of the utmost importance. The new routers were purchased with a software

based firewall. Policies on these routers can be controlled by our Cisco Security Manager

appliance. This combination of services will enhance the capabilities of our virus protection. It

will also allow us to tighten security at the edge of our network where services are most

vulnerable.

Enhancements to performance did not stop at the Wide Area Network. To support the robust

WAN we also upgraded our Core network devices providing greater redundancy and

throughput. We have also have concluded our wireless pilot and are expanding our wireless

implementation to several agencies utilizing Cisco's Lightweight Accesspoint architecture.

To manage these enhancements we are utilizing several resources. The first of those is Cisco

Security Manager. This product will allow us to implement and manager security policy

enterprise wide from one platform. Another other product that complements CSM is Cisco's

Monitoring, Analysis and Response System. This product integrates with the Cisco Security

Manager to correlate security events with the configured firewall rules. The next product we

are utilizing is Cisco Works. This application enables us to manage configurations of the

routing/switching environment across the entire enterprise.

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Network Engineering Department

The Engineering Department of the ISC provides the daily support and management of servers

(except for the ZOS/Linux Enterprise Server) at the ISC and other agencies and the entire web

server network environment. This server environment has grown to meet diverse users‟ needs

and includes Microsoft, UNIX, and Linux operating systems. The ISC Database Analysts

support IMS, DB2, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server database management systems.

Goals for 2009

Our goals are to continue providing Engineering support for County Agencies and to meet

County-wide needs in the server, Internet and database environments. We will continue to

provide these robust and highly reliable environments by making the most efficient use of

hardware and software resources. We will minimize expenses through server consolidation

and virtual server implementation. Facility improvements will also be considered if they are

projected to result in long-term environmental savings or cost avoidance.

STAFF

Management

Tom Basco, Administrator

Allan Harker, Manager

John Hunter, Manager

Tim Peterson, Mgr, CNE, CCNA,

CCNP

Staff

Tom Brewer, Network Engineer

Bob Brown, Senior Database Analyst

Jim Cassidy, Network Engineer

Veronica Devese, Network Engineer

Vitalie Durlesteanu, Database Analyst

Mohamed Eddeb, Network Engineer

Aaron Edens, CNE

Jim Fritz, Network Engineer

Mike Hayes, Senior SAP DBA

Tom Hill, CNE

Steve Kallman, CNE

Keith Kozer, Senior CNE

Ryan LaMont, Field Engineer

Jim Martin, CNE SAP Basis

Joe Oddo, Technical Analyst

Jonathan Po, Database Analyst

Lorenzo Rose, CNA

Ken Smeallie, Network Engineer

Jason Snowbrick, Network

Administrator

Tim Verry, CNE

Belinda Wesner, Intern

John Zola, Network Engineer


Oracle Award – 2008 GIS project

Justice Affairs MEMEX – GIS project

Coroner's IT Upgrade including LAN, VMware, 10Mb

WAN, VoIP phone system, workstations for all staff, and new

business applications.

Internet Upgrades including conversion to County owned

and secured public Internet IP addresses, BGP routing protocol

for two ISP's; combined bandwidth of 250Mb; and upgraded

Internet firewalls, switches; and load balancers.

Server & Network Environment Implementations

including use of virtual servers for UNIX, Linux and Microsoft,

and VMWare Enterprise Server Edition (ESX) to provide a

redundant and high availability server environment; disk based

backup system yielding a 300% performance increase; Microsoft

Active Directory to provision for County-wide application and

ISC file and print; and a pure IP Novell networking

environment.

Agency Implementations including continued centralized

data backup for agencies; roaming profiles at Domestic

Relations; FTP server upgrade for County agencies; County

anti-virus server and software upgrade; and Sheriff‟s IP camera

system.

ISC Facilities’ Implementations including replacement of

rack mounted UPS's with new “green friendly” power

distribution units; evaluation & testing of email archiving

solutions; and set up of a 50 person BOE voter phone bank for

2008 election.

19

2008 Engineering Accomplishments

The Engineering Department supports key applications including Auditor Appraisal,

Benefits/Payroll HR-SAP, Treasurer Real Property, County Web Sites, GroupWise email,

County Blackberries, Human Service “Bridges”, County Engineer‟s GIS, and other enterprise-

wide applications. The server environment at the ISC currently includes: 117 physical servers,

73 virtual servers, 27 TB SAN disk storage, 109 SQL databases, 26 Oracle databases, 94

external websites, 19 internal websites, and 4,500 Novell and GroupWise email users.

Oracle Award for the GIS project from 2008

The GIS project went live in 2008 and won a

national award from Oracle, “The 2008

Oracle Spatial Excellence Award for

Integrated Enterprises”. The GIS system

continues to receive accolades for its usefulness. The CCISC and County Agencies will begin

to roll out applications using the system as its base. The Auditor‟s office took advantage of the

GIS system to automate the forfeited land sales this March. The web group anticipates more

applications will begin utilizing the GIS database in the near future.

Collaboration on the Justice Affairs MEMEX project and GIS

The CCISC had a small but significant part in this project. We provided the technical and

project management resources to make sure the project was completed on time and in

compliance with the grant it was funded through. The Engineering group helped MEMEX with

the code to enable their application patriarch to contact to an Oracle Spatial GIS system.

Coroner’s Office IT Upgrade

The Coroner‟s office experienced a major IT transformation in 2008. Upgrades include a WAN

link upgrade from a 1.54Mbps T1 link to a 100Mbps fiber connection; a county VoIP system,

with a new recorder for investigators; a Local Area Network (LAN) based on Microsoft‟s

Active Directory (AD); an agency wide roll-out of PC workstations, with GroupWise email and

Microsoft Office Suite; server expansion from two to ten through the use of VMware

technology; and a new Windows based VertiQ Case Management System replacing an old

Digital VAX based CME program.

The ISC provided the skill sets for many of these new initiatives. The Engineering staff provided

the primary IT desktop support for the new network and many of the Coroner‟s new day-to-

day IT tasks. The WAN upgrade and VoIP was implemented by the ISC COM/WAN group,

while planning and implementation of the AD and server rollouts were completed by ISC

Engineers. The engineering staff worked with the COM/WAN and Coroner‟s staff to

coordinate the VoIP implementation, shore-up the network cabling, remove hubs and rollout

the workstations.

20

While ISC staff worked on the servers and network infrastructure, the Coroner‟s IT staff led

the application rollout of VertiQ, JusticeTrax, and in-house written photography and toxicology

applications. All departments expressed appreciation of the entire IT staff, both Coroner and

ISC, for their response and support in dealing with end user issues and questions.

Internet Upgrades

Prior to June 20, 2008 the County was totally dependent on our Internet Service Provider

(ISP), Time-Warner (T-W), for our Internet IP addresses. Because the American Registry for

Internet Numbers (ARIN) was reclaiming IP addresses from T-W, we faced a major

readdressing effort. This was a complex change and we realized we could be forced to do this

again, for reasons not in our control. Since we had to change IP addresses, we decided to apply

to ARIN for our own addresses. ARIN is extremely selective when allocating IP addresses, but

we documented in detail the use and importance of our Internet presence during the

application process.

On April 29, 2008, ARIN approved four (4) class C (/22) IP Networks for Cuyahoga County.

Planning for the cutover began immediately. Numerous upgrades necessary due to the new

Wide Area Network (WAN) implementation included connection to two ISP‟s for redundancy;

implementation of BGP routing protocol to coordinate the traffic between the ISP‟s; increased

bandwidth from 100Mb to 250Mb (total from two ISP‟s); and implementation of new firewalls,

switches, and load balancers for the Internet DMZ. The cut over to new IP addresses was

completed on June 20, 2008.

Server & Network Environment

Continued server virtualization on all platforms has

allowed us to more effectively utilize our

infrastructure, rolling out additional functionality and

applications at a lower cost. VMware Enterprise

Server Edition (ESX) supports pooling of physical

servers and their hardware resources. The pooling

provides redundancy and high availability as VMware dynamically restructures to compensate

for physical hardware failures by using other hardware resources from the pool. The virtual

machine applications and services continue running without interruption as this reconfiguration

takes place.

Active Directory Implementation

Microsoft Active Directory (AD) was implemented at the ISC to provision the County for the

Clerk of the Board‟s Agenda Management System and to ready the ISC for file and print

services using AD. AD was also installed at the Coroner‟s Office and is currently being

installed at the County Engineer‟s Office. The demand for AD continues to grow as more and

more applications depend on this Microsoft facility. At the ISC, this along with blade servers,

virtual servers and a portion of our SAN, was the most cost effective file and print option.

21

Agency Backups

The ISC continues to provide centralized data backups for County Agencies. Data is backed up

over the network from remote Agencies to the ISC, written to tape and then stored offsite for

a time period defined by the owning Agency. The ISC will add infrastructure and agencies to

this initiative with the help of grant monies. Continued expansion of the backup plan will move

the county towards a state of better preparedness in the event of a disaster.

Sheriff’s IP Camera System

Implementation of the Sheriff‟s IP camera system was successful. The hardware was put in place

to allow this system to continue to grow at an incremental phased approach reducing the cost

to expand the system in the future. The use of the IP cameras will continue to aid the county

in keeping an eye on its facilities in a more economic fashion.

ISC Facility Upgrades

This past year a replacement of all batteries in the data center uninterrupted power supply

(UPS) was completed. In addition another battery bank was added to provide a longer period

of UPS time. Older rack mounted UPS‟s are also being replaced with new “green friendly”

power distribution units (PDU‟s). Eventually, all servers will rely only on the large data center

UPS.

22

Project Management Department

The ISC‟s Project Management Department collaborates with agencies, management and

consultants to deliver the desired products and services within an established project's scope,

budget and timeframe. Our project managers assist with defining scope, identifying potential

risks, procurement, system integration processes, and resources to ensure projects are

completed on time and within budget.

Goals for 2009

Provide quality Project Management and oversight to achieve the following goals:

Implement enterprise initiatives that provide eGovernment information and services 24

hours a day, seven days a week for our constituents and customers;

Reorganize and maintain an infrastructure that supports enterprise technology solutions,

facilitates interoperability and connectivity, achieves consistently high service level and

supports research and development efforts within the enterprise;

Enhance our customer-driven culture to ensure customers' IT needs are well defined

and consistently met;

Effectively collaborate with the agencies and vendors to ensure that agencies will receive

the goods and services expected.

STAFF

Management

Stan Kozlowski, PMP

Project Management Department Manager

Staff

Ursula Kaunas, Project Manager - I

Cathy McKenna, Project Manager - II


ISC project managers assisted with the following projects in 2008

upgrading the Wide Area Network.

replacement of the Real Property Tax System and Sanitary

Engineering Billing System.

upgrade the BUYSPEED purchasing online system.

automate MyHR website for employee self-service functions.

Replace the current Sheriff‟s Office inmate phone system.

InJAIL project.

Video Conferencing.

Represent the ISC on the ADP Board‟s Architecture and

Technology Committee.

Participate in -monthly meetings with the RTA and the City of

Cleveland Data Center strategizing about common IT initiatives.

Most notable to-date is the collaboration of planning future fiber

connectivity between the GCRTA, City of Cleveland and

Cuyahoga County through the Euclid Corridor Project.

23

2008 Project Management Accomplishments

Three full time Project Managers are on staff, one with Project Management Institute

certification (PMP). Following is information on several key projects that the Project

Management staff is working on:

BUYSPEED Online Software Upgrade

The county is upgrading the client software to Buyspeed Online. The Buyspeed database will

be converted from Oracle to SQL. Some of the benefits gained from this project include:

Web-enablement of the purchasing process,

No client-installed software,

Ease of use and installation,

Access from a variety of platforms,

Less LAN and WAN traffic,

Works with established intranets, and

Support by County staff.

Inmate Operating System

The vendor of this system will provide a full time inmate operating system site administrator.

This will allow the Sheriff‟s staff to focus on their primary duties. All new state-of-the-art

equipment will be used including enhanced investigative tools. Automated Inmate Service

Request IVR System will contain a menu of services from which the inmates can choose

through the telephone keypad.

inJAIL

The system will provide booking and billing data in real time; tracking of sentenced misdemeanor as

they move from one Municipal / County Jail to another; and fiscal accountability. Functionality

includes recording booking data, tracking inmate transfers, and ability to perform ad hoc reporting. A

Board & Care Report will be available to track Inmates housed each month and the locations for

invoice reconciliation.

Video Conferencing

Cuyahoga County has been working to develop and implement video conferencing within the

county criminal justice system. The objectives are driven by the SJI $400K 50/50 Matching

Grant awarded in August 2006, and the recommendations of the Justice Management Institute

(JMI) study of County Municipal Judicial Agencies. The SJI Videoconferencing Grant Pilot Project

objectives and goals are to demonstrate, establish and/or enhance existing videoconferencing

capabilities; link Cuyahoga County Courts, Jail, Pretrial Services / Treatment Services (TASC),

Prosecutors, Probation Office and Public Defenders with the Municipal Courts, Prosecutors,

Private Counsel / Defense Attorneys, Municipal full service jail facilities and the offenders in

county custody through a secure connection.

24

Real Property Tax System and Sanitary Engineer’s Billing

The Cuyahoga County Treasurer and Auditor, in conjunction with the Cuyahoga County

Information Services Center (ISC), have published a Request for Information (RFI) followed by a

Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain a fully integrated Tax Billing, Collection and Sanitary

Engineering Billing System. The County has requested information from companies wishing to

provide a packaged or develop a custom solution for the County. The County is presently

reviewing the RFPs and will determine whether purchasing commercial off the shelf (COTS)

customizable software or the design and development of new software is best.

Employee Self Service Project

The project management group will be working with the web group in their efforts to develop

a Paperless Time Keeping system. This functionality will be added to the MyHR site and linked

to SAP web services. The paperless timesheet project will be an online time, attendance and

leave management system that will provide employees, supervisors and managers with

attendance, scheduling and leave management information. A project manager has been

assigned to this project to ensure key deadlines are met, potential risks are identified, and

processes are documented and tested. This project is being managed by the web group through

a Sharepoint website, which enables all key staff to share documents, track progress, and

efficiently collaborate with one another.

Goals for 2009

Assist the Web Group with the MyHR Employee Self Service Project

Help select a new Property Tax Billing and Collection System

Work with staff on the Conversion of the Sanitary Engineer‟s Billing System to an

Oracle Data Base

25

Operations Department

Services provided by the Operations group include mainframe monitoring, printing, forms

handling processing, a 24/7 call center, technical support of mainframe system software, and

VM/Linux services. We are an internal service provider, serving agency needs for mainframe

applications for either county agencies or applications that facilitate the services provided to the

citizens of Cuyahoga County. Our staff consists of seasoned mainframe technicians uniquely

qualified to provide long standing stable mainframe services as well as new emerging

technologies on the Enterprise Server platform.

Goals for 2009

Implement zOS 1.9

Upgrade 3rd Party Vendor Software to insure software currency and compatibility with

zOS 1.9

Implement mainframe duplex printing.

Continue COBOL Modernization with Human Services Applications

Continue marketing the use of the VM/Linux region

STAFF

Management

Joyce Coffman, Administrator

Computer Operations & Call Center

Theoila Blair,

James Evans

Lucinda McCall ,

Nick Rufo,

David Ruic,

Emmanual Smith

System Software Technical Support

Marija Cuvalo,

Paul Noble

CRIS Call Center& Engineering Support

Janice Foltz

Tonya Gallardo,

Kevin Guion

Allyson Pantina,


Updated zOS with appropriate maintenance in

preparation for zOS1.9

Updated system software, CICS, IMS and related zOS

products to be compatible with zOS 1.9 which is to be

installed in 2009.

Completed the implementation of Linux servers under

VM for Bug Tracker.

Installed DB2Connect and the WEBsphere family of

products on VM.

Relocated the Enterprise server and disk system to a

different location on the computer room floor.

Staff completed technical training for the following

products: BMC Control M and IBM RACF.

Completed the conversion of Sanitary Engineer‟s OS/VS

COBOL programs to a later version of COBOL.

Implemented procedures and starting monitoring new

systems, GIS and Novus Agenda.

Automated CRIS Day 1 Batch Processing.

26

Operations Department 2009 Objectives

The Operations Department‟s primary responsibility is mainframe operations and mainframe

system software support. Both require staffing a 24/7 support center. For some time, segments

of the IT industry and Ohio local government entities have considered mainframe utilization a

dead end. However, Cuyahoga County provided a mainframe system throughout 2008 and for

the next 2 years intends to keep its z890 platform current. Software currency for both

operating systems and virtual machines is now central to running mainframe Linux.

The 2007 implementation of a VM/Linux region puts the ISC in prime position to provide a cost

effective solution to web development and sever-based centralized technology. In 2008 and

early 2009, we installed 2 severs on Linux for a change management product known as “Bug

Tracker”. Server installation on a mainframe is a very cost effective option to the purchase of

new hardware and is quite viable for application software evaluations and demonstrations.

In 2008, software currency was our primary focus. We successfully updated CICS, IMS and

zOS, making them compatible with zOS 1.9, which is targeted for installation in 2009. In the

Linux arena under VM, we installed IBM products that facilitate web development and

workstation data management. Those products include DB2 Connect, Websphere Application

Server and Rational Developer. These installations also included technical training for the

support staff.

Many mainframe applications continue to run from programming languages released in the late

1960‟s. To take advantage of newer features and functions of both the Operating System and

more current releases of programming languages, like COBOL, applications must be

modernized. In an approach to minimize costs, we selected the Sanitary Engineer‟s application

to test conversion and modernization. The results were successful and will continue in 2009.

Mainframe staffing and effective technical skill training continues to

be a challenge. In 2008 we continued to keep our staff‟s skills

current by the successful completion of training in BMC‟s Control

products, RACF, and new products as mentioned previously.

The most important aspects of mainframe operations continue to

provide stability and service in areas often taken for granted. The

Computer Operations staff continues to provide stability in the monitoring of production jobs

and the successful processing and printing of Payroll, Financial Accounting, and Human Services

applications. Our basic print services include forms handling (burst, trim, fold and seal).

In 2009, for all mainframe applications, we will continue to provide the level of service our

customers have come to expect. Our goals include the migration to a new version of zOS (1.9)

and the implementation of a new server function that will enable mainframe applications to

transmit emails. The email feature has been requested by some of our users and will facilitate

more cost effective monitoring, which is being mandated due to the staff shortages being

experienced nationwide.

27

Detailed Support Information Z890 Platform Support

1. Updated zOS with appropriate maintenance in preparation for zOS1.9

2. Updated system software, CICS, IMS and related zOS products to be compatible with

zOS 1.9 which is to be installed in 2009.

3. Completed the implementation of Linux servers under VM for Bug Tracker.

4. Installed DB2Connect and the WEBshere family of products on VM.

5. Relocated the Enterprise server and disk system to a different location on the computer

room floor.

6. Staff completed technical training for the following products: BMC Control M and IBM

RACF.

COBOL Modernization

We completed the conversion of Sanitary Engineer‟s OS/VS COBOL programs to a later

version of COBOL.

Computer Operations/Call Center

As a part of continued improvement in service delivery, staff development, cross training and

preparation for staff reductions due to ERIP the following was completed.

1. Control-M Processes, Procedures, and Scheduling Documentation was developed and

completed for the following:

(Data Mart Tape Process)

(KOMAND)

(Hedy)

(WES3/Utilities)

(FAMIS)

(EFS Payroll)

(Boarding Mothers)

2. The following new services were picked up and the respective procedures,

documentation and training was completed for all staff in GIS Monitoring and Novus

Agenda

CRIS

1. Marginal performing staff were coached and positioned to work the CRIS Help Desk 7

days a week for 1st and 2nd shift.

2. Assisted CRIS developers with the automation of CRIS Day 1 Batch Processing. This

will enable Operations to do CRIS Parking Ticket Mailers printing on 3rd shift in 2009.

28

Research and Security Department

The Research and Security Department focuses on providing cost savings to the county by

ensuring computer network systems stability and availability. We accomplish this by

researching global and local threats that may effect County computer system operations and

providing incident response. We take a proactive approach to ensure that around the clock

monitoring and follow-up actions provide a secure network environment for the public‟s data.

Goals for 2009

Our goals for the current year are to complete the network infrastructure modernization

program initiated in 2008. We are implementing new Web Security Appliances that will

provide greater flexibility to manage access to the Internet and provide enhanced security from

global malware and security threats. We will further our abilities to have redundant security

layers by implementing network devices to our new monitoring, analysis and reporting system.

We will also increase our in house capability to provide network security using the nine

federally funded security appliances to ensure the county‟s computer network system is

protected at all times.

STAFF

Management

Linda Lingler, Chief Technology Officer

Joe Hernandez, Security Analyst

Certified Network Engineer

John Dido

Network Security Specialist

Donna Lohman

Karla Marciszewski

Greg Michel

Karen Russo


Implemented new email filtering security to deter spam and

malware from entering our email system and reducing

inefficiencies

Email filter reduced useless email traffic by over 193.4 million

threat messages

Saved $300,000 by moving to in house management of nine

security sensors

Completed installation of nine federally funded security

sensors

Blocked over 14 million hacker, cracker and malware threats

from external sources

Provided password security for county applications and the

Internet

Participated and completed the Wide Area Network

Infrastructure RFP process

Successfully merged security technologies to provide layered

security protection

Conducted research and evaluation of proposed email archival

systems

Through a lateral transfer, provided the county with a

network security specialist

Provided 24 hour by 7 day a week customer support

Implemented security standards and best practices

Instituted Information Security Policy and Procedures Steering

Committee and Working Group

29

2008 Research and Security Department Accomplishments

The Cuyahoga County Information Services Center Research and Security Department prides

itself on being able to use current technologies to protect County resources. We do this by

fielding security technologies such as intrusion protection systems, email and web filtering

appliances, monitoring and incident response of redundant security programs. The Research

and Security Department saved over $300,000.00 taxpayer dollars by bringing monitoring and

protection services from managed services in-house.

What this means is that we are able to keep our business partner, IBM, 9 security sensors in

place and in service with our own county employees. This has not only provided a significant

cost savings but increased response time to customer requests. Additionally by adding a layer

of security and monitoring with our business partner Cisco, we will enhance our capability over

the next 5 years. The Cisco technology is critical to ensuring Cuyahoga County computer

information applications and systems are readily available and minimize down time to our

customers.

In 2008 we completed our network of 9 intrusion prevention and protection systems from IBM

Internet Security Systems. This was the culmination of a 5 year, federally funded program to

protect the public‟s information and computer systems from external and internal threats.

We also received and implemented the IBM Internet Security Systems Site Protector to bring in

house control and monitoring of our intrusion prevention and protection systems. This

valuable resource puts control over malware, virus threats, hacker and cracker vulnerabilities in

the hands of our own security analysts. The system successfully tracks, monitors and turns

away thousands of threats daily.

As an additional security program implemented as a part of our 5 year network infrastructure

modernization program, Cisco Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting System (MARS) was

implemented. This additional layer of threat protection offers Cuyahoga County the unique

opportunity to take preventive measures with a comprehensive network system of router,

switch, server and network traffic management resources.

Email and Internet access control were key features to be addressed

in the Wide Area Network infrastructure modernization program.

IronPort Web and Email Security Appliances were also procured to

eliminate or reduce the amount of spam and malicious email received

by Cuyahoga County employees. The email filters reduced useless

email traffic by over 193.4 million threat messages after

implementation and reduced the threat of malicious programs being

delivered to our county email boxes.

30

Business Administration Department

The Business Department has two sections: Accounting and Delivery Services & Management.

The Accounting group purchases hardware and software for County agencies, ensures that the

products are received, pays invoices from vendors, maintains equipment inventory, processes

warranty and repair services and charges agencies for the use of CCISC resources. The

Business Department is responsible for processing contracts for various County agency

requests, including consultants, equipment maintenance and software licensing. The Delivery

Services & Management department receives stock, delivers various reports, mail, hardware and

software. This department is responsible for all physical security of the premises and responds

to daily maintenance and utility requests from staff.

Goals for 2009

We plan to consolidate various agency contracts for similar services provided county agencies

to leverage quality service and pricing. We will reorganize the processing of contracts for

information services to expedite completion and to comply with the Commissioners‟ new

agenda system. We will cross-train within the Business Department so we can provide services

with fewer staff due to the Early Retirement Incentive Program. Additionally, we will reduce

software license obligations through negotiations with vendors and/or use of minimal services

STAFF

Management

Mary Lou Dowling, Administrator

Diane Kirchendorfer, Manager

Cheri Kubit, Manager

Mark Resnik, Manager

Business Analyst

Peggy McDonnell

Fiscal Officers

Roy Lynn

Bob Lupo

Lisa Hunter

James Phillips

Dottie Sievers

Thomas Suto

Kathleen Reich

Customer Service

Lois Long-Hodge

Stock Clerks and Couriers

Jeffrey Adams

Vincent Lazarra

James McNulty


Inventoried 14,370 County computer assets

Retired 1,353 computer assets

Purchased 1,031 equipment orders for $12,100,455.00

Processed 139 contracts for a total of $19.9 million

Obtained Automatic Data Processing Board approval for

projects totaling $57.6 million

31

Procurement via CSR

The Cuyahoga County Information Services Center (ISC) Customer Service Request (CSR)

System ensures that County agencies will receive the best and most accurate and timely service

possible.

Initiating a Request

An agency requesting the purchase of hardware, software and/or services submits a CSR to the

ISC. The submission of a CSR initiates the ordering process. A number is assigned to the CSR

to track the request. Without this number an order may be lost anywhere in the process

resulting in a delay in the timely completion of the request.

Each agency provides the ISC with a list of those authorized to make purchases. The ISC

maintains a list of these names and when a CSR is received, the name of the requestor is

verified against this list.

Once a CSR is received and the requestor is verified, it is assigned a number and entered into

the CSR Tracking System. All pertinent information about the purchase resides in the system.

At each stage of the purchasing process the tracking system is updated allowing the ISC to

know the status of the order.

The CSR is assigned to a Procurement Specialist who obtains bids from three different vendors

for the items specified on the CSR. The bids are sent to the requesting agency where the

purchasing authority chooses one of the bids.

Approving the Request

Next, funding approval for the CSR must be obtained. The dollar amount of the CSR

determines the method of obtaining funding approval. When the amount of the CSR is

between $1000 and $25,000, an approval request is sent to the Office of Business Management

(OBM) and the Director of the ISC. OBM can verify whether the index code to which the

purchase is to be charged has sufficient funds to cover the purchase. Once this is validated, the

ISC Director may give approval to purchase the items requested.

When the CSR exceeds $25,000, approval is required from OBM, the Architecture and

Technology Committee of the ADP Board, the Budget Committee of the ADP Board and the

ADP Board itself. The Architecture and Technology Committee ensures that the hardware,

software and/or services requested meet County standards. The Budget Committee ensures

that appropriate funding exists for the request. The ADP Board has final approval of the

purchase as defined in Ohio Revised Code, section 307.84:

After the initial meeting of the county automatic data processing board, no county office shall

purchase, lease, operate, or contract for the use of any automatic data processing equipment

without prior approval of the board.

32

Purchasing

After approval by the ADP Board, the ISC Procurement Specialist creates a Purchase Order

(P.O.) using the bid from the chosen vendor. If the requested items are in stock, they are

usually shipped within two days and received within four days.

When the shipment is received at the ISC, Delivery Services checks the shipment against the

packing list and the P.O. to make sure the correct items have been provided. If all is in order,

each item is assigned an asset tag number which is affixed to two separate places on the item.

The items are then repackaged for delivery to the requesting agency.

Delivery Services notifies the requesting agency that its order has been received and arranges a

date, time, and place for the delivery.

Installation, Servicing, and Disposal

When the requesting agency receives its order, hardware and software may be installed for use

by its employees by agency or ISC staff. If any hardware purchased should need service, an

agency representative may call ISC Customer Service for assistance. Whether the item is

under manufacturer‟s warranty or ISC‟s extended warranty, Customer Service will record all

pertinent information and contact the vendor or repair service to resolve the problem.

At the end of an item‟s life cycle, ISC will pick up the item and dispose of it. The item‟s asset

tag number, serial number and type will be removed from the Inventory Tracking System to be

replaced by information about new equipment.

33

WEBHITS

34

2008 Webhits by Total

Common Pleas 61,922,039 Auditor 48,519,420 Recorder 10,292,362 BOCC: CECOMS 9,615,211 Board of Elections 4,967,575 Sheriff 4,228,439 Treasurer 3,734,278 Probate Court 1,295,256 Clerk of Courts 1,511,743 Domestic Relations 424,718 BOCC: Human Resources 423,007 BOCC: Board of County Commissioners 391,759 Prosecutor 375,452 BOCC: Employment & Family Services 264,616 BOCC: Child Support Enforcement Agency 260,225 BOCC: Department of Development 223,582 BOCC: Children & Family Services 215,860 Board of Revision 196,041 Solid Waste District 188,184 BOCC: Invest in Children 182,948 BOCC: Workforce Development 165,022 Juvenile Court 160,155 Court of Appeals 159,082 BOCC: Justice Affairs 142,165 Don‟t Borrow Trouble 135,700 BOCC: Office of Procurement & Diversity 108,228 Coroner 101,865 Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services Board 87,326 BOCC: Central Services 85,836 BOCC: Senior & Adult Services 84,063 BOCC: Bridges 75,953 Veterans Service Commission 60,689 Cuyahoga Tapestry System of Care 40,490 BOCC: Family & Children First Council 35,869 Information Services Center 33,684 BOCC: Sanitary Engineer 32,581 BOCC: Healthy Start 30,309 BOCC: Office of Budget & Management 26,625 BOCC: Local Emergency Planning Committee 19,624 Public Defender 17,676 BOCC: Justice System Reform 16,009 BOCC: Protecting our Future 15,448 BOCC: Office of Homeless Services 15,318 BOCC: Ryan White Title I 4,027 BOCC: Clerk of the Board 3,086 Grand Total 150,889,545

35

2008 Webhits by Agency Name

BOCC: Board of County Commissioners 391,759 BOCC: Bridges 75,953 BOCC: CECOMS 9,615,211 BOCC: Central Services 85,836 BOCC: Child Support Enforcement Agency 260,225 BOCC: Children & Family Services 215,860 BOCC: Clerk of the Board 3,086 BOCC: Department of Development 223,582 BOCC: Employment & Family Services 264,616 BOCC: Family & Children First Council 35,869 BOCC: Healthy Start 30,309 BOCC: Human Resources 423,007 BOCC: Invest in Children 182,948 BOCC: Justice Affairs 142,165 BOCC: Justice System Reform 16,009 BOCC: Local Emergency Planning Committee 19,624 BOCC: Office of Budget & Management 26,625 BOCC: Office of Homeless Services 15,318 BOCC: Office of Procurement & Diversity 108,228 BOCC: Protecting our Future 15,448 BOCC: Ryan White Title I 4,027 BOCC: Sanitary Engineer 32,581 BOCC: Senior & Adult Services 84,063 BOCC: Workforce Development 165,022 Total BOCC Agencies 12,437,371 Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services Board 87,326 Auditor 48,519,420 Board of Elections 4,967,575 Board of Revision 196,041 Clerk of Courts 1,511,743 Common Pleas 61,922,039 Coroner 101,865 Court of Appeals 159,082 Cuyahoga Tapestry System of Care 40,490 Domestic Relations 424,718 Don‟t Borrow Trouble 135,700 Information Services Center 33,684 Juvenile Court 160,155 Probate Court 1,295,256 Prosecutor 375,452 Public Defender 17,676 Recorder 10,292,362 Sheriff 4,228,439 Solid Waste District 188,184

Treasurer 3,734,278

Veterans Service Commission 60,689

Total Non-BOCC Agencies 138,452,174

36

3 Year Webhits Comparison

2006 Webhits

Auditor 46,460,892

BOCC: CECOMS 11,615,989

Common Pleas Court 8,285,142

Treasurer 3,401,785

Probate Court 3,339,691

Sheriff‟s Office 1,676,824

Board of Elections 1,515,766

Clerk of Courts 720,502

Domestic Relations Court 421,397

BOCC: Human Resources 296,340

BOCC: County Commissioners 236,374

BOCC: CSEA 215,932

BOCC: Employment & Family Services 210,621

BOCC: Workforce Development 196,433

BOCC: Children & Family Services 165,498

Court of Appeals 137,851

BOCC: Department of Development 115,827

BOCC: Justice Affairs 112,886

Juvenile Court 112,432

BOCC: Bridges 105,875

Coroner 99,367

BOCC: Office of Procurement & Diversity 98,233

BOCC: Central Services 86,075

BOCC: Senior & Adult Services 76,599

Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services Board 65,922

Solid Waste District 45,807

Board of Revision 40,466

Information Services Center 36,704

BOCC: Family & Children First Council 25,514

BOCC: Sanitary Engineer 23,906

BOCC: LEPC 21,800

BOCC: Office of Budget & Management 18,342

Veteran‟s Service Commission 16,007

BOCC: Invest in Children 12,033

BOCC: Child Fatality Report 6,863

BOCC: Ryan White Title I 6,273

BOCC: Clerk of the Board 2,343

Grand Total 80,026,311

37

2007 Webhits

Common Pleas 59,767,971

Auditor 46,813,105

Sheriff 9,899,965


Probate Court 3,131,656

Treasurer 3,046,041


Clerk of Courts 1,145,466


Domestic Relations 434,308


BOCC: CSEA 280,284

BOCC: County Commissioners 265,913









Coroner 98,094












BOCC: LEPC 19,049

BOCC: Protecting Our Future 15,907




38

2008 Webhits

Common Pleas 61,922,039

Auditor 48,519,420

Recorder 10,292,362



Sheriff 4,228,439

Treasurer 3,734,278

Probate 1,295,256

Clerk of Courts 1,511,743

Domestic Relations 424,718


BOCC: Board of County Commissioners 391,759

Prosecutor 375,452


BOCC: Child Support Enforcement Agency 260,225










Don‟t Borrow Trouble 135,700


Coroner 101,865






Cuyahoga Tapestry System of Care 40,490




BOCC: Healthy Start 30,309


BOCC: Local Emergency Planning Committee 19,624

Public Defender 17,676

BOCC: Justice System Reform 16,009

BOCC: Protecting Our Future 15,448

BOCC: Office of Homeless Services 15,318




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