MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, January 21, 1998

Metro Council Annex

Chair McCaig called the meeting to order at 3:35 PM.

1.  CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 23, 1997 AND NOVEMBER 19, 1997 FINANCE MEETING

2.  BRIEFING ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT PROCESS AND CALENDAR FOR FY 98-99

Dennis Strachota, Capital Improvement Plan Manager, outlined the process for amending the adopted Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). He distributed a document that described: 1) the process for amending the CIP, 2) the proposed Metro CIP calendar for FY 1998-99, and 3) criteria for selecting capital project requests for Finance Committee review in 1998-99. A copy of this document is included as part of the meeting record. Mr. Strachota reported on a temporary Koala exhibit at the zoo as an example of a project that will require that the FY 1997-98 CIP be amended. He said the zoo is bringing in Koala bears for a two-year exhibit. The purpose of this exhibit is to maintain attendance levels during a lull. It is anticipated attendance may drop due to construction at the zoo, specifically the Oregon project. He said the project was not identified until after the CIP process was done last year, and it was not finalized until the budget was adopted. Therefore, Council has not had the opportunity to review the proposed project. Mr. Strachota reported that the RFP for this project will be released shortly, and at some point, the CIP will need to be amended.

Mr. Strachota reported that an “urgent” need will require Council approval, and an “emergency” need will require an executive order to proceed. Chair McCaig said that if a project is canceled, a resolution will not be required, however, Council will be notified of its cancellation.

Regarding the proposed Metro CIP calendar for FY 1998-99, Mr. Strachota reported that the calendar has been modified from last year’s schedule in order to have the Council approval date occur prior to Thanksgiving. Chair McCaig said last year there was a real push to get everything accomplished in December, and this was one project that could be concluded prior to Thanksgiving. Mr. Strachota said additional time has been built into the calendar in order to give more time for review.

Mr. Strachota then reviewed the criteria for selecting capital project requests for Finance Committee review in 1998-99. These criteria are listed in the handout that is included as part of the meeting record. Mr. Strachota pointed out that any project can be reviewed upon request of the Council.

Chair McCaig said councilors will receive a copy of the CIP, describing all capital projects in advance of the committee review. The criteria will establish which of those projects will be automatically marked for individual presentations. She said an additional criteria will cause anything that is controversial or of political interest to be brought forward for review. She noted the convention center expansion had been reviewed in the current year CIP approval process because of it’s political impact. Unfunded projects will also be reviewed. Chair McCaig said sometimes staff’s decision on what not to fund is as important as it’s decision on what to fund.

Councilor McLain was pleased with the criteria. She asked if all large contracts that would span more than one budget, and that had been amended in a way that would alter the original spirit of the project would be brought back to the committee for review as a result of the criteria under discussion. Scott Moss, Risk Manager, said that personal services contracts can only be amended up to $25,000 without Council approval. Public contracts that are under $1 million, can be amended up to 20% without Council approval. Public contracts over $1 million can amended up to 10% only, without Council approval.

Councilor Naito pointed out councilors had approved a special arrangement with Greenspaces staff, due to the special circumstances surrounding open space purchases, wherein additional authority was given them, extending their purchasing powers.

Chair McCaig credited Mr. Strachota for his forward thinking in developing and presenting the CIP process in advance of next year’s review.

3.  COMPUTERS 101 -- OVERVIEW OF METRO’S COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INCLUDING SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, NETWORKS, AND CURRENT AND PLANNED UPGRADES

Chair McCaig said she had requested staff to give an overview of Metro’s computer systems in order to set a context for Council to evaluate different computer items that will come before the committee during the year.

Jennifer Sims, Director of Administrative Services, said that a computer is essential for every one who works at Metro, and in fact, staff cannot do their jobs without computers.

Dick Bolen, Data Resource Center Manager, gave a computerized graphic presentation describing Metro’s computer environment. A copy of this presentation is available for review upon request. [Editor’s note: Due to the visual nature of the presentation, not all of Mr. Bolen’s comments can be comprehensively reflected in the minutes.] Mr. Bolen defined end users or clients as individual computer users. Servers enable end users to share computer resources, and to network between users. Another piece of the computer environment is the network infrastructure, which consists of the wiring, routers, and switches. The computer environment uses a common language or protocol, such as Novell to enable users to communicate. Another important element of the computer environment is skilled staff, which has led to Metro’s reputation in the region for being technological leaders.

Mr. Bolen said there are enterprise servers, which are the big networks connecting everything; and work group servers, which handle post offices and document sharing. Mr. Bolen said the Internet enhances Metro’s ability to disseminate information, as well as obtain information. He said Washington County has placed all assessor’s data on a the Internet, and Metro can download this information on a nightly basis.

Councilor McLain asked about last year’s request for money to upgrade servers. Mr. Bolen said this is in the CIP for next year. He said it is a two-step process, with the networks being in the CIP this year, and the servers being in the CIP next year. Councilor McLain asked how upgrading Metro 1 and Metro 2 would affect the capacity of RLIS or the enterprise servers. Mr. Bolen said Metro 1 and Metro 2 actually consist of 18 servers. They have been developed over time, and the plan is to condense them into a single server. As far as how that will relate to the larger servers, Mr. Bolen said they provide different kinds of resources. Mr. Bolen said the real problem with the servers is with high end users. He said when a map is downloaded takes up more memory than comes on the average hard disk of a PC. Therefore, the intent of the upgrades is to eliminate long waiting times caused by these high end users.

Mr. Bolen said the remote sites, such as Metro Central, Metro South, and the ZOO have their own servers. Staff’s goal is to link these remote sites and make the connection transparent so that they look alike, and end users cannot differentiate between computers at different sites.

Mr. Bolen said the Internet connection is strategically vital to Metro in terms of it being a regional agency. There are information connections developing outside the agency, such as at Tri-Met, and the city of Portland, and it is important that Metro be able to connect with them. Mr. Bolen described Metro’s home page, and pointed out the potential uses for the page, including publication of agendas, job openings, and revenue-generating uses.

In response to a question by Councilor McLain, Mr. Bolen said any reports of missing links should be given to Sue Gemmel, Metro’s home page administrator.

Mr. Bolen defined the difference between the Internet and the Intranet. He said a firewall exists to limit Intranet access to only users within the agency. Councilor McLain asked how the firewall would relate to enterprise uses. Mr. Bolen said enterprise items would be placed outside the firewall. Mr. Bolen said most rules governing the Internet are common to the whole entity.

Mr. Bolen said the current year CIP contains a $95,000 lease payment for GMS. The RLIS project is in the CIP for $155,000. Travel Forecasting is closing out a lease this year in the amount of $139,000, and they now have operational, a computer project in the amount of $160,000. InfoLink expenditures for the current year are about $2 million, and will be $351,000 (?). He said if RLIS is upgraded, the old RLIS computer can be used for the Internet. This year, the CIP was amended in the amount of $135,000 to replace the network. Next year, the 18 servers will be consolidated. The savings in maintenance will be significant.

Councilor McLain said in dealing with limited resources of the agency, she needs to know whether the benefit to the system will come from improvements to other entities’ computer systems or improvements to Metro’s system. Mr. Bolen responded it was a combination of both. Councilor McLain asked whether Metro is in the top 10, 20, or 40% technological level when compared with our regional partners. Mr. Bolen said Metro had fallen behind. Councilor McLain asked if people are allowed to breach Metro’s firewall, and if so, is it a reciprocal situation. She asked who decides what access to give. Mr. Bolen said this determination is usually made through negotiations between the two staffs, on a quid-pro-quo basis. Mr. Bolen said GIS data is exempt from public domain. Councilor McLain said she thinks it is important to have a policy in place to decide what information to provide to whom. There are issues where Metro needs to receive credit for its work, as well as times when individuals have claimed Metro’s data is wrong, that necessitate the development of this policy.

Mr. Bolen said that as data becomes more and more accessible, policy issues arise. He said there is a regional GIS committee that Metro chairs, and one of the issues it is dealing with, is what information (such as the price an individual paid for their home) is appropriate to place on a public site. Staff would welcome policy direction on these issues of confidentiality, he said. Councilor Kvistad said there are federal guidelines regarding what information can and cannot be released. For example, tax records and social security numbers are exempt from public information requirements.

Councilor Naito said one of the problems is that public policy makers are not familiar with the issues surrounding Internet access, due to the newness of the industry. Chair McCaig said Government Affairs may be the correct venue for developing policies with regard to public access. She also said Council needs to determine what role it should play in the region, whether it should be a leader, and how the investment will relate to the benefit received.

Councilor Naito suggested that a technology peer review group, involving representation from the private sector, be established to function as a check and balance to staff requests. Mr. Bolen said it would be beneficial to be able to bounce ideas off of other experts. Ms. Sims said there is a staff-driven information and technology team in place, of which Jeff Stone is a member. She said this has led to a department-by-department review of system needs that has been very helpful. She said it is important to determine where Metro needs to take the technological lead. She said if Metro sells data as a business activity, the agency needs to be cutting-edge. However, in daily operations, Metro seeks to be just slightly behind the curve. She believes it is appropriate to have outside experts verify and confirm these details.

Councilor Naito said she thinks having an outside party review Metro’s computer plans would be a method of doing due diligence in making purchases.

Councilor Washington said he appreciated today’s presentation, and found it helpful in providing a context for decision making. Mr. Bolen said it is vital to remain in the mainstream of information technology. He said there is a huge price to be paid for obsolescence. He recommended updated computer systems at the point that technology has been proven.

4.  RESOLUTION NO. 98-2596, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING THE RELEASE OF A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO REFURBISH THE COMPUTER NETWORK SYSTEM AT THE METRO REGIONAL CENTER

Mr. Bolen appeared before the committee to give a presentation on Resolution No. 98-2596, which would authorize the release of an RFP for hardware and software to refurbish the computer network system at the Metro Regional Center. Mr. Bolen showed slides of the current network closet. Chair McCaig said the purchase has already been approved by Council, and the resolution before the committee today would simply authorize the release of the resultant RFP.

5.  RESOLUTION NO. 98-2602, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AMENDING CONTRACT #900 825 WITH ESRI FOR UPGRADING THE RLIS DATA WAREHOUSE

Chair McCaig said Resolution No. 98-2602 was a repeat of a resolution that had come before the Council previously. At that time, she recommended, and the Council agreed to vote down the resolution because it was not filed in a timely manner. She asked Mr. Bolen to give a presentation on the resolution. Mr. Bolen appeared before the committee with a graphic presentation on Resolution No. 98-2602, which would amend Contract #900 825 with ESRI to upgrade the RLIS Data Warehouse. The substance of Mr. Bolen’s remarks is contained in the staff report to the resolution, a copy of which is included as part of the meeting record.

In response to one of Mr. Bolen’s statements Chair McCaig said she did not have the necessary information to decide whether all of the potential capabilities in terms of speed of access to information of the new system would be worth the expenditure. However, she said the fact that by using e-commerce, Metro could recover up to 60% of it’s expenditure, would make it worth going ahead.

6.  FY 1998-99 BUDGET PROCESS AND CALENDAR

Chair McCaig distributed a draft calendar of meetings and public hearings for the upcoming FY 1998-99 budget process. Chair McCaig said it is important to have adequate opportunity for public review and testimony into the process, and therefore several public hearings will be held. A copy of the calendar is included as part of the meeting record.

Following discussion, it was decided to tentatively approve the calendar with the following changes: 1) move the Finance Committee meeting scheduled for February 4 to the start of the Council meeting on February 5 at 2:00 PM, and 2) delete the public hearing scheduled for the February 26, 1998 evening Council meeting because of a conflict with a water policy public hearing that is expected to run long. It was noted there will still be six public hearings scheduled for input.

There being no further business before the committee, Chair McCaig adjourned the meeting at 4:59 PM.

Prepared by,

Lindsey Ray

Senior Council Assistant

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