Nebraska Information Technology Commission
November 10, 1999, 1:30 p.m.
Board Room, Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege Street, Lincoln, Nebraska
APPROVED MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT |
|
| Greg Adams, Mayor City of York |
Hod Kosman, President (via phone) Platte Valley Financial Services |
| Eric Brown, Manager (via phone) KRVN Radio |
Dave Maurstad, Chair Lieutenant Governor |
| L. Merill Bryan, Senior Vice President Union Pacific, Information Technologies |
Dr. Dennis Smith, President University of Nebraska |
| Pete Castellano (non-voting) Representative for Senator Robert Kerrey |
|
| MEMBERS ABSENT: Dr. Doug Christensen, Gary Kuch | |
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL:
Dr. Smith called the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. Roll call was taken. Five commissioners were present. A quorum existed to conduct official business. Dr. Smith stated that Lieutenant Governor Maurstad will be arriving late to the meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES/NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING:
Dr. Smith stated that the NITC meeting date, time and location were posted to the NITC on September 29th. The NITC meeting agenda was posted to the NITC website on November 3rd with a revision posted on November 5th.
Commissioner Adams moved to approve the minutes as written. Commissioner Bryan seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion was carried by voice vote.
UPDATE ON RECORDS MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES:
Bill Ptacek, Director, Records Management Division of the Secretary of State's office distributed copies of the Secretary of State's website and invited the Commissioners to visit the site for more detailed information on the project (http://www.nol.org/home/SOS/RecordsMgmt/recmenu.htm). Several public forums have been held to gather input. Draft Regulations were posted to the website on July 29, 1999. More feedback is being solicited on the Draft Regulations. A revision to the Draft Regulations is expected before Thanksgiving and will be posted to the website. Additional feedback will be solicited through more public forums, and through the website. After this comment period, the proposed regulations will be posted. There will be formal hearings held before final adoption of the regulations. The Commissioners had no questions.
STATEWIDE TECHNOLOGY PLAN ELEMENTS:
Advisory Group Guidelines (Part 2.A): Michael Winkle, NITC Executive Director, provided information on the development of this section of the statewide plan and was available for comments and/or questions from the Commissioners. The Technical Panel and the Councils will be developing Action Items which will include: 1) proposed action; 2) sponsoring entity; 3) goals and objectives; 4) justification (rationale); 5) work plan; 6) required resources, and 7) estimated costs. These action items will be submitted as recommendations to the NITC.
There were no comments. Commissioner Adams moved to approved Part 2.A as presented. Commissioner Bryan seconded the motion. Roll Vote: Adams-Yes, Brown-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Kosman-Yes, Smith-Yes. Motion carried.
Technical Infrastructure (Part 3): Walter Weir, Chair of the Technical Panel, provided information about Part 3 of the Statewide Technology Plan and was available for comments and/or questions. This section of the plan will be comprised of three sections: Purpose, General Principles, Components and Development: The Purpose rests on four foundations: interoperability; better information; greater efficienty and flexibility. The general principles shall: facilitate the strategic objectives of the Statewide Technology Plan; support the use of information technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness of all sectors; increase access to information and services for citizens, business, and government, and all sectors, while protecting privacy and security considerations; enable affected entities to leverage existing technology infrastructure investment; and use advances in technology that are scalable, reliable and cost-effective. The Components section will address principles, best practices and standards and guidelines and will focus on the following architectures: application; collaboration and workflow; data and information; electronic commerce; hardware platform; network; security; and systems management. The Technical Panel will develop a state enterprise architecture framework which categorizes the architecture into useful components, defines the scope of each component, and establishes principles to guide the development of each component of the architecture. The Nebraska Industrial Competitive Alliance was suggested as a resource for e-commerce standards development.
Commissioners expressed concerns regarding the distribution and awareness of the standards and guidelines once they are in place. Suggestions generated from discussion included: mailings to purchasing entities; statewide conferences and/or workshops inviting all interested sectors including the private sector; and a joint meeting of the NITC, Technical Panel and Councils. Mr. Winkle also informed the Commissioners that the standards and guidelines will be used as part of the technical reviews on proposed projects. Any new or different standards could be identified at that time and brought before to the Commission.
Planning and Project Management (Part 4): The outline for the Overview of Planning Components and Accountability had been approved at the August NITC meeting. Staff have further developed this part of the statewide plan. Steve Schafer, State Chief Information Officer, reported that Budget and Appropriations staff have also provided input. A work group of the State Government Council is examining the document in detail. Further changes are expected.
Commissioners raised concerns about creating more bureaucracy and the meaning of the terms "required" and "recommended". Mr. Schafer explained that Part 4 attempts to combine the project review requirements for the biennial budget cycle with other planning and project management requirements identified in statute. Other than projects requesting new or additional funding, Part 4 does not require NITC review or approval. The other planning and project management sections provide general guidelines and best practices for agencies. Mr. Schafer stated that future drafts of Part 4 would make this distinction clearer.
Mr. Winkle reviewed Part 4.B Project Proposal Form and Assessment Instrument and the Scoring Sheet and Summary. The Technical Panel and Councils have been providing input. The length of the proposal form was a concern. Mr. Winkle informed the Commissioners that depending upon the project, some parts of the form may not need to be completed.
Implementation Plan (Part 5): Mr. Winkle told Commissioners that staff will be focusing on this section as the Technical Panel and Councils develop their Action Items. The Commission will need to look at all the Action Items and decide which ones will be included in the Statewide Technology Plan. Councils are presently prioritizing their Action Items.
Lt. Governor Maurstad arrived at the meeting at 2:30 p.m.
REPORT FROM THE COUNCILS:
Community Council: Donna Hammack, Co-Chair and Anne Byers, Community Information Technology Manager, presented two proposals for Community Technology Funds for action by the Commission. The first was the Community Public Access Study for a community-by-community survey indicating whether or not public access Internet terminals are available. The amount requested was $2460. The project will be administered by the Nebraska Library Commission. This information will be made available to public officials and agencies to assist in the formation of public policy decision regarding support for public access sites and the provision of services online. It will also lay the ground work for addressing the digital divide issue. Mr. Winkle shared with the Commissioners comments from the Technical Panel review: The project is consistent with the NITC goals and objectives; The Technical Panel requests the opportunity to review the final survey document, as well as the data collected; The Technical Panel recommends that the Library Commission develop a process to integrate collection and maintenance of this information in the future.
Lieutenant Governor Maurstad was called out of the meeting at 3:05 p.m and Dr. Smith resumed the position of Chair.
Commissioner Bryan moved to approve the request of $2460 for the Community Public Access Study. Commissioner Brown seconded the motion. Roll Vote: Smith-Yes, Adams-Yes, Brown-Yes, Kosman-Yes, Bryan-Yes. Motion carried.
The second proposal was for a Telehealth Feasibility Study. The study will include reports on community needs/attitudes, resources and provide an estimate of costs. Ten to twelve communities from across the state will be selected. In addition to health care providers, other entities will be interviewed such as businesses, schools, libraries, veterinarians, etc. Ms. Hammack indicated that the proposed consultants from Colorado are very experienced in the area of telehealth. Mr. Winkle shared with the Commissioner that one of the comments from the Technical Panel review indicated was that the Project Management team is well balanced and experienced.
Lieutenant Governor Maurstad returned to the meeting.
Commissioners agreed that the concept was good but would like to see Nebraska resources utilized as consultants. Commissioner Smith suggested checking with UNMC and Gallup in regards to conducting the study. Mr. Winkle suggested tabling decision on this project until the next NITC meeting. The Telehealth subcommittee will be meeting on Wednesday, November 17th. Commissioners agreed to review the proposal at the next meeting.
Education Council: Dr. Jack Huck, Co-chair, reported that the Council has been working on the Action Items for the NITC. The three committees of the council have met or will be meeting in the near future. The Policies, Procedures and Planning Committee met to discuss and prioritize deficit spending requests from NETC.
Government Council: Mr. Schafer reported that the Council has met twice since the last NITC meeting. Several working groups have been established to address issues: 1) Notes Collaboration, 2) E-mail, Shared Calendar and Document Sharing, and 3) Action Items. The E-Government Conference co-sponsored by the Governor, Secretary of State and the NITC was well attended. The CJIS Conference held on October 6-7 in Kearney was also well attended. A Public Notice Calendar has been developed which is available through the state home page.
Technical Panel: Mr. Weir brought forth a slate of three names to serve as alternates on the Technical Panel for approval the by the NITC:
Ruth Michalecki, Director of UNL's Telecommunications Center, alternate for Walter Weir
Mike Beach, Chief Engineer Network Operations, University Television, alternate for Peter Ford
Tom Conroy, Director of Information Management Systems, alternate for Brenda Decker
Commissioner Smith moved to approve the slate of alternates for the Technical Panel. Commissioner Bryan seconded the motion. Roll Vote: Bryan-Yes, Kosman-Yes, Maurstad-Yes, Smith-Yes, Adams-Yes, Brown-Yes. Motion carried.
NITC PRIORITIZATION OF DEFICIT REQUEST BUDGET ITEMS:
Three deficit requests were brought to the NITC for review. Lt. Governor Maurstad clarified the definition and justification for deficit budget requests. Agencies can use this opportunity to request appropriations for unexpected or emergency expenses. Lt. Governor Maurstad also emphasized the importance of the NITC's role and relationship to the Appropriations Committee in regards to funding recommendations. Mr. Winkle reported that the Budget Office informed him that approving these project would require an off-setting reduction somewhere else in the state budget.
NETC NEB*SAT Statewide Interconnection Project (Phase I) - Funding for 1/3 of the bandwidth (45 Mbs) of the existing OC-3 ATM circuit between Lincoln and Norfolk and Lincoln and North Platte. This circuit is currently utilized by the State through Division of Communications and by the University of Nebraska. NET's share would establish distance learning connections between the K-12 schools and their DLS consortia, community colleges, state and private colleges and the University. This project was recommended by the NITC last biennium but was not funded.
Concerns raised regarding contractual agreement costs and payment and whether it truly was statewide since Lincoln, Norfolk and North Platte are the only cities noted in the project.
Discussion followed regarding the extent of this request as an unexpected or emergency expense.
After discussion, Lt. Governor Maurstad entertained a motion to recommend the NEB*SAT Statewide Interconnection Project (Phase I) from NETC. There was no motion made. No action was taken.
NETC NEB*SAT Network 3 System Upgrade Project (Phase 3) - Paul Sautter, Assistant Director of Engineering/Transmission, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, was available for questions from the Commissioners. The request is for the continued funding of system replacement and upgrading of uplink transmitters and receivers, digital satellite modems, digital codecs and associated interconnection hardware and software. The listed equipment replaces equipment throughout the state that is no longer manufactured, has Year 2000 issues, has equipment interface problems, and/or is no longer supported. The NEB*SAT Network 3 satellite systems provides the backbone for two-way interconnection and distribution of distance education programming for K-12 schools, community colleges, state colleges and the University of Nebraska. This project was recommended by the NITC last biennium but was not funded.
Discussion followed regarding the extent of this request as an unexpected or emergency expense.
After discussion, Lt. Governor Maurstad entertained a motion to recommend the Network 3 System Upgrade Project (Phase 3) from NETC. There was no motion made. No action was taken.
Nebraska Department of Education School Finance Reporting System - This proposal requests funding for the development of the consolidated school finance reporting system. In addition, funding is requested for a data server to support this activity. The purpose of the Department’s data consolidation project is to both improve the quality of information and reduce the data burden on local school districts and other data providers. This can be accomplished by creating a centralized "data warehouse" where data would be collected only a few times and used many times by NDE staff and other users. The data warehouse will consolidate over 45 automated data applications into six major functional data bases focusing on: student data, staff data, finance data, transportation data, instruction data, and organization data. Discussion followed regarding the extent of this request as an unexpected or emergency expense.
After discussion, Lt. Governor Maurstad entertained a motion to recommend the Nebraska Department of Education School Finance Reporting System. There was no motion made. No action was taken.
Dr. Jack Huck thanked the Commission for the opportunity to learn more about the definition of deficit requests and will share what he has learned with the Education Council.
NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business.
NEXT MEETING DATE, TIME AND LOCATION:
Commissioners will have a working session, Wednesday, January 19th, 1:00 p.m. location to be determined. The regular NITC meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 25th, 1:00 p.m., location to be determined.
Lt. Governor Maurstad adjourned the meeting at 4:25 P.M.
Minutes taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales, CIO/NITC Administrative Assistant and reviewed by the Office of the CIO/NITC staff.
Meeting Minutes