Towns discuss innovative uses of technology

The monthly meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association on April 11 in Wrentham focused on innovative uses of technology by municipalities.

Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine and GIS Coordinator Adam Kurowski gave a presentation about a new method for tracking the effects of weather events in town.

Using a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and a custom aerial map, they are able to map Arlington down to fire-hydrant-level precision. During Superstorm Sandy, Kurowski stayed at the town dispatch center and as calls came in, he was able to indicate the location with the GIS system. Public works staff and town officials were able to track, in real time, the location and status of each call.

Using the new GIS system and iPads, Kurowski went out the day after the storm and photographed each damage site and officials ranked it for repair or resolution priority in the coming weeks. At any given moment, a website could display the call locations, types of damage and resolutions for the whole town.

Once implemented, the live-updating site would reduce the amount of work following duplicate calls, where one resident might report a downed tree and a neighbor might report the same tree. Once the GIS information is made public on the website, residents are able to check on reports and see for themselves if a neighbor has already reported the problem before calling it in. This feature is not yet available to the public.

Westford Town Manager Jodi Ross and IT Director Mike Wells gave a presentation about their town’s new GIS and web services solutions. When Wells was hired, Ross said, he brought vast experience and a different approach to IT. One of his first projects was to create a written information security plan (WISP). Even though the town is exempt from state regulations requiring a WISP, he felt one would help the town reduce inefficiencies in administrative tasks and streamline data entry.

Wells created a matrix of security issues and resolutions that gave town staff a protocol to follow when dealing with personal information. The WISP dictates what information can be shared publicly and what information must be kept secure. Under Wells’s direction, the town recently changed website hosts. The town is now better able to keep its website up-to-date, and town staff can easily make modifications and provide documents for users.

Next, Wells helped to develop a new online permit system. The new system was created by the town and incorporates GIS, watermarks, QR codes, and bar codes. Permits are created online by staff and tie in GIS and other data to the form. Permits can be signed digitally and updated as each phase of the permitted work is completed. Residents and businesses can view their permits online and print them. Another innovative use of technology in Westford is the use of tablet computers (in this case, Apple iPads) for board of selectmen meeting packets. The town purchased an iPad for each board member to use during the meeting. The iPads are secured by the town manager’s office between meetings.

All board materials are uploaded to the iPads the day before the meeting, and then the iPads are passed out for use during the meeting. All materials are also available online, so board members can read the packets ahead of the meeting if they choose. This switch to electronic board packets has reduced the use of paper and staff time that used to be required to make the packets. Wells said the iPad is such a user-friendly device that minimal training was needed by board members. Board packet documents are all contained in a single indexed PDF.