O.C. Trying to Budget a Computer Upgrade

In an age of e-mail and the Internet, Orange County government is struggling to reach the cutting edge.

Departments and agencies use a hodgepodge of computers that in some cases are incompatible with each other. A recent study by the Government Practices Oversight Committee, appointed by the Board of Supervisors to improve efficiency, concluded that county technology was “woefully behind the times.”

Most agree that an upgrade is long overdue, but, on the heels of the county’s 1994 bankruptcy, little money is available.

“You’ll find some techies out there who look at the county and say that everyone deserves a brand-new Pentium. But that’s not possible,” said Leo Crawford, who was recently appointed by Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier to manage information and technology systems. “We are going to have to get the most bang for our buck.”

Crawford, 53, faces the daunting task of improving the county’s vast computer systems on an austere budget. Instead of scooping up big-ticket hardware, he is focusing on more modest upgrades.

Crawford, a 10-year county employee who speaks proudly of the five Apple Macintosh computers he uses at his Yorba Linda home, said his mission is not only to improve worker efficiency but to make it easier for the public to receive government information and services.

In a report issued last year, the committee found much of the county’s hardware and software to be “outdated technology.”

The committee’s report noted that there is no countywide standard for computer acquisitions, leaving departments to purchase their own equipment, which may not be compatible with other systems.

“They were getting a good price, but nothing was integrated,” said Mary Anne Schulte, co-chair of the committee. “A department will run out and buy something to fit an immediate need. But there is no long-range planning.”

The committee recommended that officials form a panel of computer experts to work with staff on a far-reaching technology plan.

“As the county faces the next century, it’s imperative that it improve,” Schulte said. “It’s the only way to be efficient and stay current.”

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Crawford insists that the picture is not quite so grim, noting that some county departments have made significant progress.

“We are playing catch-up,” he said. “We are going to have to pick those items that offer the best return on our investment. It’s going to be a balancing act.”

Crawford has identified about $3 million in upgrades that he hopes can be at least partially funded in the 1997-98 budget:

* Adding a faster communications network to existing computers, allowing workers to use more programs and send electronic memos and messages to other departments.

* Increasing e-mail capabilities among departments, reducing their reliance on paper. “This will speed up the flow of information and make decisions faster and more accurately,” he said.

* Improving graphics capabilities.

In the longer term, Crawford wants to focus attention on the county’s 2-year-old Internet home page, which provides Net surfers with government agendas, press releases, job listings and general county information.

The site logs more than 100,000 hits a month and has recently been expanded. But because of limited funding and staffing, it still doesn’t offer the library of services and documents of more advanced home pages offered by other counties and municipalities.

Crawford said that eventually he would like to use the Internet to provide documents and forms to the public and help them take care of tasks such as pulling permits or paying traffic citations.

“When you do business with the county, wouldn’t it be easier to use your PC rather than get in your car and drive down to the Civic Center?” he said. “I think it would be nice to sign on to the Internet and pay that traffic ticket.”

One wild card in all this planning is the costly conversion of big computer systems to recognize the year 2000.

Most computer systems use a two-digit system for marking years; 1997, for example, is noted as “97.” When 2000 arrives, the systems will calculate the date to be 1900, throwing records into chaos. Converting the county software will cost $5 million to $10 million.

“We know it’s going to be expensive,” he said. “It comes at a time when there are a lot of other needs.”