The City Council back-tracked on a previous decision to outsource an information system employee, voting Tuesday to return the jobs to city employ. The move is expected to save about $14,000 next year.
The council voted 8-5 to remove the infrastructure manager from its contract with Velocity Partners to provide technical support for the city. Aldermen Jeff Coe, Michael Shields, Jim Kaplan, David Maack and Robert Mozol voted against the motion.
Coe had proposed reinstating a programmer position along with the infrastructure manager, but after a flury of procedural questions, the council voted against the idea.
The vote adjusted a contract the city signed with Velocity Partners in 2007 (Read our previous story here). At the time, the idea was a technology company would do a better job managing the city's computer systems than city employees because it would have more flexibility and a better grasp of emerging trends. Money was not a consideration because the city didn't expect savings from the five outsourced positions.
But the decision to outsource was made when the city didn't have a director for its information systems department. Once Paul Ancona was hired to lead the department - called Management Information Systems - a review of MIS suggested the city should have a dedicated employee to manage sensitive data systems, particularly police and fire systems.
The council's vote Tuesday night creates the dedicated position while retaining the city's relationship with Velocity Partners.
Aldermen Bob Anderson, Sandy Weidner, Terry McCarthy, Ray DeHahn, Greg Helding, Aron Wisneski, Jim Spangenberg and Tom Friedel voted for returning the infrastructure managemement position to the city.
Alderman Ron Hart was excused from the meeting and City Council President QA Shakoor II, who ran the meeting, was a non-voting member.
Becker's decision to go with Velocity was a BIG mistake. Ask any City employee and we will tell you we have had nothing but problems using our computers and software since Becker and the Student Council made that lame-brained decision to go with Velocity. Barely does a day go by when something isn't running correctly. Lately, everything we do on the computer is SLOW running, not working correctly, or just not working. It's embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteANOTHER Becker deal! Where will it end???????????????
ReplyDeleteCity Worker hit it on the head. What they said is true. Our MIS Department and director are pitiful.
ReplyDeleteLet me get this right - Becker ousted the city employees, made them become employees of Velocity because it would save the city money - but now the city (?) is saying it would save money to have one or two of the employees go back to being city employees??? What am I missing? I have been at various city departments for work related things and I have witnessed how frustrated the city employees are because of the computer problems. Just what were the aldermen thinking when they went along with Becker to get rid of the city employees?????
ReplyDeleteExplain to me how making contractors into City employees will fix your city computer systems and network. Slow PC's usually really means slow network. The contracted network person is who the director has proposed making an employee again. How will that fix anything. The city employees I know have complained about slow systems for years including when the department was all employee. How is changing them to employees again going to help? Seems to me the same people, except the director, have been just getting moved back and forth the past few years.
ReplyDeleteCity Employee-
ReplyDeleteHow has Velocity contributed towards the city's computer problems? The Velocity employees were former City IT employees. Are you implying that they performed better under Dennis John? Or perhaps these former city employees are in over their head? I don't understand how the same employees are great when they work fot the city, poor when they work for Velocity but should be hired back because all the IT problems would be solved. City employee, what makes you such an expert?
Colt 45 - obviously you do not know about who the employees for Velocity are. Yes there are some former city employees now working for them, but there are also "other" employees. Computer problems do have to do with Velocity. Regarding slow computers - no the city's computers did not always run as slow as they are now. As was stated, the norm at the city is one computer problem after another. As far as Dennis John is concerned, yes he did run the department better, but he was a bad manager.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the programmer got screwed. He really is a good employee. I would think this would only add to the animosity in that department - other city hall workers have commented on it.
ReplyDeleteGood programmers are not hard to find. Why would the city put up with a UNION programmer. Grievances, special rules, impossible to fire no matter how bad they are? MIS is not like a road crew.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:13 - that may be true, however the way those people were treated was inexcusable - union or not. People who work hard at what they do should not have their legs cut out from under them. It paints the city of Racine in a bad light. The elected people need to think about what they do before they make decisions that effect workers and their families.
ReplyDeleteanonymouse 11:31
ReplyDeletewhy should they put up with a union network guy? Makes no sense. One of the reasons they are doing this is so V. can get into Kenosha.