STATE OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE OVERHAUL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
May 8, 2001
By RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press Writer
State officials on Tuesday announced a major overhaul of Delaware's information technology operations, saying the current system is costly and inefficient.
A task force created by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner in January recommended that the Office of Information Systems be abolished and replaced with a new, cabinet-level Department of Technology and Information.
To compete with private sector hiring, the state also needs to exempt information technology employees from the state's traditional pay plan, the task force said.
Minner agreed, saying Delaware needs to manage its information more effectively.
"We've been spending a lot of money, and our systems aren't working together as they should, " she said.
Under the plan released Tuesday, the new DTI would begin operating July 1. After a two-year transition period, the OIS would be abolished on June 30, 2003.
Minner said no layoffs are planned, and current OIS employees would be given jobs in the new DTI or elsewhere within state government. The OIS has 187 jobs, including about 15 vacant positions that would be incorporated in the new DTI.
Minner also said no additional budget allocations would be needed.
"We are not looking to spend more money, " she said.
Officials said the new DTI would act largely as a general contractor, working aggressively to outsource "non-strategic " technology functions to third-party vendors.
"The state of Delaware shouldn't be in the business of creating technology, " said state treasurer Jack Markell, chairman of the task force. "We can benefit from the investments that other people have made. "
Officials noted that state spending on hardware and software has nearly doubled over the past four years to $144 million, and that total spending for information technology has risen to about $190 million annually, about 8 percent of the state budget.
That spending includes salaries for IT employees, whose complaints in interviews conducted by task force members included low pay.
Markell said the merit system, which covers personnel procedures such as hiring, classifying and promoting, prevents the state from competing with private companies for the best technology workers.
"There is a war on ... and this war is really out of control, " he said. "In this area of information technology, we need to go beyond the merit system. "
Besides exempting technology workers from the merit system and creating the new DTI, the task force also recommended the establishment of a Technology Investment Council to evaluate technology projects. The council would include representatives from the judiciary, public education, and controller general's office, and three to five other individuals appointed by the governor.
The task force also said the state needs to streamline and standardize the funding process for technology projects and strengthen the position of chief information officer, who would serve as secretary of the DTI and chairman of the technology investment council.
