Town Technology Committee Meeting Minutes, March 27, 2008
Posted on: 3/29/2008
Date of Minutes:
03/27/2008
Meeting
March 27, 2008
We met at Town
Hall between 8:30 – 11:00 pm.
In
attendance:
Bob Demkowicz
Joe Ely
Scott Epters
Joe Kupiec
Paul Niedercorn
Bruce Washburn
Agenda
items, as addressed:
- Online
Registration Option for Recreation Committee
Summary:
- The desire is to have the Recreation Committee use
online registration for its programs. - Because registration is coming soon, the process needs
to be defined and discussed quickly.
Actions:
- Bruce will check whether online payment and use of
selected provider is legal - Joe E will create a process for online and in-person
registration, for review at next meeting - Team will begin development of site parallel to
process definition - Bruce will inform the Recreation Committee
Bruce suggested that all registration for Town Recreation
programs be performed online, with printing of forms and assistance at specific
times and locations for manual submission.
His soccer league site acts as a good example: http://app1.sportssignup.com/lss/LeagueHome.aspx?lid=12572001. The team agreed that using the same service,
out of Latham, is preferred.
Paul brought up the issue of the legality of online payment
services taking a percentage of credit card sales; Bruce will investigate.
Bob voiced several concerns regarding fairness of online vs.
walk-up registration:
-
Credit
card privacy? Joe K and Joe E noted that
numbers must be dumped.
-
Benefit
of dual payment options with eTeamz?
Paul, team: stick with familiarity.
-
Coordination
of online vs. walk-in registration? Joe
proposed dividing slots if necessary, evolving balance over time.
-
Scott
recommended proper staffing and planning; Joe confirmed that a waiting list
feature exists.
-
Bob
recommended pre-collection of all registration forms, then slot assignments;
Bruce recommended a two-week window to make registrants aware of new procedure;
having a person available for assistance.
-
Bob
asked about money flow, so that all is auditable and accountable; provider has
reports, etc…
-
Bob
notes that since registration is to be either April 22nd or April 29th,
system needs to be prepared and tested by April 14th.
-
Decided
that Joe E. will put together the process for review; use only for Recreation programs.
Policy and Configuration
Summary:
- Email policy needs to be reviewed.
- Webmail should ultimately be the client type of choice
for all mail users. - Ingoing/outgoing mail needs to be properly captured,
possibly by a government service provider.
Actions:
- Dave will invite Kevin Jeffries to next meeting for
involvement in email discussions. - Team will revamp email policy and discuss password
strength at next meeting. - Dave will check host’s backup retention period.
Dave described the recent migration of Town/Village email
accounts to new host, and explained the current configurations and limitations.
Paul recommended that webmail be considered as the primary
mail client for email users. In this way,
technical support for client computers will be greatly reduced. He notes that training is necessary. Joe E. notes that webmail must be used in
order to capture all incoming and
outgoing email messages.
Joe E. recommended that a government service provider be
employed to handle all incoming and outgoing email. In this way all mail will be properly
stored. The service is more expensive,
but effective.
Team agreed that the current email policy needs to be
reviewed and reworked due to too much “gray area” and improvements in
technology.
Bob recommended that the current host be asked if outgoing
webmail can be captured and stored. Paul
and Scott noted that with current mail client configuration that “damage
control” is impossible.
Dave and Paul agreed that email passwords are weak and must
be strengthened. This causes problems
with users, who will need to remember their password for webmail
authentication. Discussion will continue
at next meeting.
Dave noted that Town/Village website and email will be
manually backed up once a month. Team
wished to know how long the host will retain backups, and whether it matches
government requirements.
- Broadband
Service Review
Summary:
- Community should be able to compare broadband services
to make informed choices.
Actions:
- Bob will put together information needed for data
collection (survey). The goal is
provide clear information to residents so that they can make informed
decisions regarding their broadband service.
Joe E explained that while Internet is non-regulated and
non-negotiable, cable TV is negotiable.
Team discussed bandwidth capabilities of current
infrastructure and how to potentially reduce channels to increase Internet
throughput. Bob and Joe E agreed this
cannot be done with current setup.
Joe E and Paul described Time Warner and Frontier expansion
through Town.
Bob proposed surveying the community digitally in order to
obtain a technical map and inventory.
This could be used to graph actual performance differences between Time
Warner, Frontier and other services. Joe
pointed out that cost is also an important factor to collect.
Team notes that Time Warner’s expansion through the
community has been consistent.
Paul asked about ValleyData.net and whether its service has
expanded. Apparently it has not.
- VoIP
Potential
Summary:
- Worth considering, but greater discussion
required. Low priority, later
agenda.
Actions:
- Bruce will check on the Town phone budget.
Scott explained that he has Time Warner VoIP service, and
although it initially had problems, it is working reliably now.
Bob points out that there are very serious problems with
VoIP should the power goes down. Bob
gets a confirmation that broadband service exists to each of the highway
departments, in case digital phone service is to be brought in.
Bruce guessed at the current phone expenses, and noted that
cell phones are broken out separately.
Paul made clear that in a state of emergency that Town Hall
acts as an emergency center, and therefore there need to be a number of land
lines available.
- Technical
Consultants Overview
Summary:
- Committee is aware of unusual relationship between
consultants and departments. Their
responsibilities may be reduced if users switch to webmail.
Actions:
- No actions necessary at the moment.
Dave, Paul explained how multiple technical consultants
overlap departments and municipalities.
It was proposed that if there is a move to webmail, then
technical consultant responsibilities are reduced.
Paul, Joe pointed out that the courts required different
services because of their computers and applications.
Bob notes that courts in the state have different
requirements in handling.
- Assorted
Actions:
- Bruce will clarify the municipal scope of the
Technology Committee.
The topic of computer upgrades was touched upon. Ultimately a rolling upgrade will need to be
performed.
It was made clear that because computers are not fully
networked, there is no central backup.
Bruce noted that the Town has a requirement to achieve a
physical inventory this year.
Team members identified that confusion exists regarding the
scope of the Technology Committee’s input, whether Town or Town/Village.
Next Meeting:
2008 at 8:00 pm, Town Hall (availability pending).