Information & Technology Services

History

The Livingston County Data Processing Department was initiated in 1985. It started by purchasing an IBM mainframe and three Wang minicomputers. The mainframe was used generally for countywide processing (payroll, general ledger, and accounts payable) and the Wang systems for departmental functions (word processing).

Late in 1994, a recommendation was made to change all the equipment we had, due to the high cost of maintenance (the mainframe cost alone was upwards of $25,000 per year to maintain) and because it was too difficult to make changes as the business of government changed. It was also getting more difficult to find staff who understood the equipment.

At that point, the county started adopting an IBM AS/400 for the central systems. One was purchased for the Sheriff’s Department E-911 system and another to replace the county mainframe. It took approximately 20 months to completely convert the county mainframe system to the AS/400. The total conversion was done using in-house staff, one contract programmer, and a conversion company for one-fifth the cost of an outside consulting firm. In July 1999, the department's name was changed to Information and Technology Services.

Responsibilities

Information and Technology Services is charged with supporting any and all computers used in Livingston County Government departments. If a project is contemplated which involves a computer, the department is involved. Also, Information and Technology Services is involved with all county communications systems including telephones, microwaves, and radios.

A major new addition to the department is an in-house training facility for Livingston County staff. Because the county is continually getting more new computer equipment, it would cost a small fortune to train the end users. Currently, we offer classes for Windows, Microsoft Office Suite, and Lotus Notes. Other classes will be added as needed.

Major Departments Supported by Information & Technology Services:
  • Board of Elections - registration and absentee voter tracking
  • Community Services - patient records and billing system
  • County Clerk - recorded document indexing and imaging, DBAs, map system
  • Highway - snow and ice system
  • Nursing Facilities - software package that helps manage the facilities
  • Probation - case management, monetary tracking
  • Public Health - Hospice and preventative services that use patient billing, clinic inventory, and clinic billing systems
  • Real Property Tax - uses a state-supplied software package, prints all tax bills, supporting reports, and assessment rolls
  • Records Management - record tracking system
  • Sheriff's Office - computer-aided dispatch, records, jail inmate tracking system and mobile data terminals including state and local law enforcement agencies
  • Treasurer's Office - financials including back taxes

Innovation

Information and Technology Services evaluates and recommends changes to existing manual systems and any automated systems we already have. All county-wide computer hardware and software purchases must be approved by Information and Technology Services.

The county has four in-house telephone Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs). Information and Technology Services is responsible for all additions, changes, and moves to the telephone system. Most of these changes involve reprogramming of the phone switches.