Contact: Colleen Roche/Jennifer Chait (212) 788-2958
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has signed Executive Order No. 43 creating New York City's first Technology Steering Committee. The Committee was established to coordinate the technology systems among City agencies in order to improve automation, and to develop and supervise the state-of-the-art integrated information technology systems throughout the City.
Committee members will include the Directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Operations and will be chaired by the Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT).
"From the outset, this Administration has worked to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of services provided by City government," said Mayor Giuliani. "The Technology Steering Committee will ensure that our efforts continue and they succeed. By coordinating the implementation of advanced computer, Internet and telecommunications technologies, we will continue to see significant increases in customer service, while reducing the financial costs incurred by the City."
The Mayor cited, as an example, technological advances in the Department of Finance. "New Yorkers who want to interact with the City's Department of Finance will be able to use advanced technology to make payments, print applications, file completed applications and get basic information," the Mayor continued. "This replaces the older, more time consuming process of doing business in person, by phone or by mail. The enhanced benefits include eliminating wait time, reducing processing costs and enabling reallocation of staff resources, among other savings."
Deputy Mayor Joseph J. Lhota, who oversees the Steering Committee, said, "Under Mayor Giuliani's leadership, New York City's government has been reinvented and has reached a new level of performance. Building on this success, we are implementing new technologies designed to support managerial decision-making, increase productivity, and improve the way we communicate with the public. In order to accomplish this goal, the Committee will also address how to better recruit, retain and train information technology staff, one of the primary requirements for New York to take full advantage of the opportunities technology offers."
DoITT Commissioner Allan Dobrin, who will chair the Committee, said, "By utilizing computer technology, such as the Internet, more effectively, the City will in turn make the public's interactions with City government easier. New technology will be used to transform the operation of City services into the computer or virtual age, and make information and services available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week via automated telephone systems, the Internet and City-deployed kiosks."
Executive Order No. 43 gives the Technology Steering Committee a mandate to oversee the City's Technology Fund and Year 2000 (Y2K) project office. Committee approval will be required for all annual agency technology plans and for Citywide technology initiatives. An Office of Technology will be created within DoITT to staff the Steering Committee and to identify and replicate the best technological innovations found in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Executive Order No. 43 was signed October 6, 1998 and takes effect immediately.