IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Within their own departments, chiefs of all stripes -- including acquisition, information technology, human capital and financial management -- work closely with and rely on each other, said a group of CXOs from the Social Security Administration and the Agriculture, Labor and Veterans Affairs departments during an event at the National Press Club. Chief officers also continue to build relationships with their individual counterparts across government on the interagency councils that represent them, although panelists said they would like to see more interaction among the various councils themselves.

The Saginaw County controller and his counterparts in Bay and Midland counties expect to form a tri-county committee in the Great Lakes Bay Region searching for common ground and ways to share services as budgets and property values shrink.

“The business practices have progressed beyond boundaries, and the three counties and possibly other municipalities could combine services... and reduce the cost,” McGill said. “Just having one service like mosquito control for three different counties... maybe doesn’t make as much sense as having one to serve the whole area.”

“We’re wondering if there isn’t an opportunity to aggregate the volume, drive some costs down and work more cooperatively,” Petty said. Oregon’s Geospatial Enterprise Office is responsible for about 30 terabytes of GIS storage. If the other states store a similar amount, the four-state consortium would spend a combined $15 million annually on GIS storage, the RFI says.

Somerset County has a Joint Public Works Facility complex, with room for Bridgewater and Bound Brook to have their own public works garage, in addition to the county’s own garage.

The complex, in Bridgewater, also has two domes for salt and sand storage, and county gas pumps that will be offered for use to towns already involved in that shared service.

The network could provide communication, entertainment and data-transfer services in the region. WCNH.net is comprised of Orford, Lyme, Hanover, Enfield, Springfield, New London, Sunapee and Newbury. Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin says preliminary estimates are that the network would cost $20 million.

One example is the Secure Communities program, spearheaded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program links all county jails in Arizona with a national data base.

Friday, we talked with Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada about what it means to him and his community.

Every emergency or disaster, whether natural or man-made, is different in how much, if any, warning it gives, how hard it hits and the destruction it leaves in its path. The only thing such events may have in common is the lack of communications interoperability that hampers first responders in their aftermath.

HHS will first request that states determine the privacy and security problems that could impede interoperability as they digitize health care information. For example, privacy and security regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act provide baseline safeguards, but a number of states have more stringent requirements. Variations in privacy and security standards can impede interoperability, Leavitt said.

Middlesex County initiated the formation of the New Jersey Shared Services Association (NJSSA) to facilitate coordination between counties throughout the state and to advocate as one body for policy, regulations and legislation.

Maria M. Sirimis, director of the Middlesex County Shared Services Department, has been named the group's president.

Joseph Doria, commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, delivered a check to the county administration complex Monday.

"This is the first step," said Doria, a former Democratic legislator. "Once you get going, you are eligible for share grants."

“Basically, once it’s built, it’s shared” among the 12 collaborating states and Washington, D.C., said Anthony Rodgers, director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

City and county officials also gave a nod to an airport governance agreement.

During a meeting Wednesday that lasted more than three hours, the Kerrville City Council and Kerr County commissioners each approved a three-year plan for shared services including fire, EMS, library, airport and animal control.

It’s the next phase in a $50 million project, being piloted in greater Brockton and two other communities, to use computers for storing patient records and exchanging medical data.

The two organisations' leaders also discussed issues related to e-government and bilateral collaboration plans for 2010.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said the memorandum aimed to assist the creation of an e-government in Viet Nam.