Technology Isn’t The Problem

Sending and receiving emails reliably; searching and using the Internet quickly; safely sharing documents; having an up-to-date, useful, and accessible website — these are all things that mostly eluded City government until just a few years ago. Following a partial reorganization of the technology department and a government-wide emphasis on new technologies, it has — by most accounts — become easier recently to do those things at City Hall. Part of the credit belongs to the City’s IT department; part belongs to increasingly sophisticated City government users who have demanded more effective Internet tools.

But, even as the City’s technology has gotten smarter, not all of the City’s technology workers seem to have followed suit. Squabbling ex-partners at the City’s former technology consultants have alleged bad behavior by themselves and by some of the City’s employees.

How dumb — or bad — was this? A performance/financial audit and an investigation will tell.

For now, disciplinary proceedings regarding IT director Mike Wise have been started and he has been asked not to report to work pending the outcome of those proceedings. The disciplinary system doesn’t require any special technology; I expect it to work quickly.