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Date: 12/19/2023
LONGMEADOW — The Longmeadow Select Board and School Committee recently received a report on the information technology study performed by the Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts.
“IT has gone through significant changes over the past two years,” Richard Daly, an associate with the Collins Center, said during the Dec. 4 meeting. He cited the “explosion” of technology in schools, remote teleconference platforms, cloud storage and cameras in people’s daily lives.
Daly’s colleague, Thomas Tedford, said the study had revealed that Longmeadow has several systems that could be integrated into Munis, a municipal accounting and management software program, which is already used for some of the town’s purposes. He said the town’s timekeeping and attendance tracking is decentralized. He noted Longmeadow Police and Fire departments each have software that tracks attendance, but a hard copy is used to transfer it to payroll. He said they are working to automate and have “less touching of the data.”
Another issue with the payroll system is that accruals are not listed on paystubs. Rather than keeping track at the department level, Telford said MUNIS includes that information in the same system as payroll.
Similarly, the software that tracks permits and licenses should be used in other departments that track licenses, such as the Planning and Health departments and the Town Clerk’s Office. Software used by the Parks & Recreation Department could be of use at the Adult Center, allowing a full list of the town’s programs and activities to be stored in one system and expanding the use of online enrollment.
Telford said dedicated help is needed to supplement department IT support, especially with camera systems — traffic and security — ubiquitous throughout town. In fact, Daly said, IT support is insufficient in all departments. Employees consistently described the IT support as “non-responsive” or “non-existent.”
Daly recommended creating a steering committee to examine and prioritize IT changes and initiatives. A comprehensive approach with a multi-department perspective should limit instances in which a change in one department negatively affects others. To create a plan to address IT issues, the town must first take an inventory of its IT assets.
Some of those assets are in the server room, located in the basement of Longmeadow High School. Noting there was no security, Daly said, “I walked right in.” The climate control solution was a temporary, portable air conditioner and the servers are vulnerable to water damage. He recommended moving the server room to the DPW office, where secure space is available and there is backup power.
Longmeadow could also use a plan to recover data in an emergency, including cyberattacks. He said hackers are targeting cities and towns precisely because they often lack security. “The demands are significant,” he said. Telford commented that Springfield had been the target of a cyberattack during the COVID-19 lockdown, but it was noticed before any harm had been done. While there is a physical data backup in place, Daly suggested using cloud storage and having a documented procedure in place.
The IT Department’s placement under the authority of Longmeadow Public Schools is an “unusual organizations approach,” Daly said. He recommended restructuring it so that IT Director C. Antonio Pagan answers to Town Manager Lyn Simmons, with the superintendent looped in as needed. The town manager has a “wider perspective” of the town’s needs, Daly explained.
Select Board member Mark Gold explained that the IT Department was put under the purview of Longmeadow Public Schools several years ago because schools were expanding their use of devices and technology at a much more rapid rate than the municipal government. “It made sense to go where the growth was,” he said. The situation has changed, however, and he said that it should now be under the town manager’s oversight.
Pagan, who joined the IT Department earlier this year, said the study will be a “roadmap” for his department moving forward. He added that he will seek grants and other funding opportunities to work on some of the changes.
Select Board members Dan Zwirko and Josh Levine urged the town to address cybersecurity matters as its top priority. School Committee member Jaime Hensch disagreed and said the creation of a steering committee should be the primary task so that the “loudest voice” does not decide what issues are addressed and when. Meanwhile, Simmons said the issues with the Human Resources Department are “very concerning.”
A second contract with the Collins Center has been undertaken to address the issues identified in the study.