City of Orange Beach, Alabama
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Rauf Bolden, IT Director
GMIS member since 2008
Number of IT staff: Staff of one, plus myriad contractors and vendors who support IT. Technology does not have to be the face of the city like Fire, Police or Public Works. I argue, the city should not be the job, but should create jobs in the private sector. This lowers costs of insurance, benefits and so on for the taxpayer.
Population: 5,000
IT budget: $150K
What has been a significant technology achievement for you or your organization?
Our most important achievement has been providing free, open Wi-Fi over our fiber-optic network at 95 percent of municipal buildings for the public to use. The minimum allocation is 10 Mbps up and down. More info is available here: http://www.cityoforangebeach.com/pages_2011/wireless_network.php
What future initiatives are you hoping to accomplish in the next year?
A. We have a Sportsplex with eight ball fields, where the SEC holds its Women’s Soccer Championship, USSSA holds the youth Baseball World Series and these events are broadcast over the Internet through our fiber to the world. The Women’s Soccer will be on the SEC/ESPN Network from November 3-8, 2014. We want to expand the Wi-Fi coverage to every ball field and stadium seat.
B. We have two live Osprey Cameras that provide 24/7 viewing during the Osprey-breeding season from February to August. The parents arrive at the nest, mate, lay eggs, they hatch, they grow and the fledglings learn to fly. Both cameras are available at these URLs: http://www.wolfbaycamera.com and http://www.ospreycamera.com. When the Ospreys leave, the Great Horned Owls usually take up residence, as they are squatters and not nest builders. If you look, you may see one. We want to expand this to a third camera on the beach.
C. Another item on our 2015 radar is a Tower Master Plan for implementing a city-tower infrastructure that will generate revenue and provide needed radio redundancy for our first responders. This is still in the feasibility stages and there is a long way from the cup to the lip.
D. Government oversight for the above is provided by our Telecommunications Committee; Chair is a Councilman, City Administrator, City Attorney, Director Engineering and Environmental, Director Library, Administrative Chief Fire Department, Dispatch Supervisor Police, Assistant Director Finance, IT Consultant and me. This body works in concert with City Council making recommendations on everything from VOIP Phones to franchise agreements. I am very please with this arrangement.
Best advice you could offer your fellow members is ...
Never stop dreaming or trying to innovate.
We all know GMIS membership is worth its weight in gold, but what do you feel is the best benefit you get out of GMIS?
The GMIS brotherhood is unselfish and supportive like a championship team.
