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Committee forwards five-year ICT plan after public calls for stronger metrics and oversight
Summary
The committee forwarded the five-year Information & Communication Technology (ICT) plan to the full Board while tabling a companion update; staff said the plan lists 132 projects with a combined five-year cost of about $548 million and a general-fund funding gap of roughly $205 million.
The Budget & Finance Committee voted Wednesday to forward the five-year Information & Communication Technology (ICT) plan to the full Board with a recommendation and to table an accompanying informational update for further review.
Acting CIO Kendrick Kaskin and Chanda Eketa of the Mayor—s Budget Office said the plan catalogs 132 project requests over five years with an estimated total need of about $548 million. Of that, $254 million are general-fund requests, but only about $49.1 million in new general-fund support has been identified in the plan, leaving an estimated $205 million general-fund gap.
Staff outlined several financial strategies to close the gap: increasing the annual COIT general-fund allocation (a preexisting commitment to grow COIT funding), better project planning and pre-development to reduce costly scope changes, project deferrals and sequencing to prioritize critical projects, sharing costs with enterprise departments for citywide initiatives, seeking state and federal grants, and tapping one-time funding sources for major investments.
Civil Grand Jury members and other public commenters urged stronger strategic direction, measurable performance goals and more explicit treatment of "troubled" projects. One commenter said historical project timelines and budgets have often slipped and recommended clearer accountability mechanisms and citywide prioritization rather than a purely departmental project list.
The committee adopted the recommendation to forward the ICT plan to the Board while tabling the informational update to allow further review and to refine performance metrics and financial sequencing.
What—s next: The ICT plan will go to the full Board with the committee—s recommendation; staff will work with COIT subcommittees and the budget process to sequence projects, refine metrics and pursue funding strategies.
