Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-10 TSSERR Meeting Minutes Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Meeting (TSSERR) March 10, 2015 – Town Hall of Ithaca 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 1. Introduction of Members: Tompkins County: Maureen Reynolds, Alanna Congdon, Greg Potter, Loren Cottrell, Katy Prince Cayuga Heights: Joan Mangione, Angela Podufalski, Jackie Carr Town of Danby: Pamela Goddard Town of Dryden: Bambi Avery, Erin Bieber Village of Freeville: Ron Campbell Town of Enfield: Alice Linton, Sue Thompson Town of Groton: April Scheffler, Robin Cargian Village of Groton: Vicki Marks, Debbie Barron City of Ithaca: Sarah Myers, Alan Karasin, Julie C. Holcomb Town of Ithaca: Paulette Terwilliger, Lisa Carrier-Titti Town of Ulysses: Carissa Parlato, Patricia Halloran Town of Caroline Marilou Harrington, Becky Jordan Town of Lansing Debbie Crandall, Debbie Munson Town of Newfield Karen Miller Kenerson 1. Laserfiche Conference Follow up: A. Discussion of LF Connect: Laserfiche Connect is the idea that in any internet program you may be working with (i.e.web based e-mail, firefox, internet explorer etc.) a form can connect to Laserfiche based upon a question in a form field. For example, someone is working with a form, plugs in a certain address, and Laserfiche Connect would provide the user with any information on that property. Another example would be someone submitted a special event application, and wants to pull up any information from previous applications on that same event, by putting specific information in a field on a form all that information would become available – once security has been confirmed, which is done by the use of a application number, reference number, etc. Most of us aren’t there yet, as far as utilizing this feature, but hope to be in the near future. B. Laserfiche Empower 2015 Conference - Attendees Experiences: The attendees of the 2015 conference shared a few thoughts on their experience as follows: Loren Cottrell – all the classes and experience were very positive, some of the classes he took included development of workflows and how many ways Laserfiche can be used. TSSERR Meeting Minutes March 10, 2015 Katy Prince – attended classes on forms or to expand her knowledge on some of the topics she was familiar with in some of advanced class. She felt the conference was well run, and the good weather was nice! Jackie Carr - took a lot of the records management classes which were very helpful as Cayuga Heights begins to use Laserfiche more. Julie Holcomb - repeated some courses she attended last year as refreshers for some of the shortcuts and programs she has been using during the past year (i.e.. records management, forms, and repository design). She stayed for the Friday afternoon classes which highlighted a lot of the new features coming to Laserfiche in 2015. Paulette Terwilliger – attended a lot of the beginner classes, records management classes, and learned how she needs to arrange some of the town’s records that are already in their Laserfiche repository. Alan Karasin – attended a lot of the advanced classes on workflow, records management so that he, as an IT person, could get an idea of the other side of records management. He realizes that different departments have different needs and learned the possibilities for tailoring Laserfiche to meet those department’s needs. Alanna Congdon – enjoyed meeting new people at the conference who come from all over the world to attend; the main speaker for the conference came from Iraq. She also likes to discuss Laserfiche and its many uses with Laserfiche representatives. Maureen Reynolds – received Tompkins County Shared Services Award at this year’s conference. The person next to her on the stage was from a small island near Africa. She attends the conference and meets with a lot of different people from General Code, Laserfiche, etc. to see what new features are planned and see what, if any, complimentary items could be shared with Tompkins County (such as having a conference attendees registration fee paid for, reimbursement for travel costs, etc.). She asked everyone to let her know if they are interested in going to the conference next year. She noted that General Code paid the registration fee for 10 attendees from Tompkins County, and Laserfiche will be reimbursing the cost for 3 nights at hotels, as well as up to $300.00 towards airfare. A slide show of pictures from the conference played on a screen in the background for everyone to watch as experiences from the conference were shared. 2 TSSERR Meeting Minutes March 10, 2015 C. Certified Professional Program Training (CPP): Ms. Reynolds announced that Laserfiche is offering a free CPP Course to members of the TSSERR group. She encouraged everyone to check out the website to sign up for a course that will help grow our knowledge base. D. City of Ithaca FOIL Workflow Presentation by Alan Karasin, Senior Network Administrator Mr. Karasin explained that the City of Ithaca receives a lot of FOIL requests each year. It requires attorney's office staff and the clerk’s office staff working sometimes upwards of 40 hours per week on it. Previously, when a FOIL request was submitted electronically, there was no confirmation e-mail, nor request for follow-up – if needed to clarify the request. General Code staff worked with City and County staff to develop a FOIL workflow; which the City implemented mid-2014. It was made available to the public in September 2014. The City is required to continue to accept hard copy requests as in the past, as well as e-mails to its FOIL e-mail account. The whole workflow resides on the county server. He then shared how the whole workflow works and how it has cut down on staff time, paper costs, and response times. In addition, responses can be sent to the requestor electronically. Once the FOIL workflow is completed, it then goes into the records management repository where it is retained for 2 years. Mr. Karasin reported that the City is also developing automated workflows for noise permits and special events permits. City Clerk Holcomb shared how the special event workflow works, which is currently still being piloted with staff. In addition, the city’s webpage needs to be developed so that the public can access the special events form in order to start using it. She explained that in developing this workflow it provided staff a chance to take a new look at an old process and the status quo to update/change/delete some processes in approving a permit request. In addition, using specific questions, depending upon the answer, will trigger the next step or approval in the process. It was noted that end user involvement upfront in the development of workflows is very important. It takes a lot of time to involve everyone upfront, but by doing so it creates a “buy in” to the new process and staff will take ownership of the workflow and use it. Mr. Karasin reported that forms are easy to design, and noted that Deputy County Clerk Congdon can help those interested in setting up their credentials, which is very simple and fast so that other municipalities can begin to look at the development of forms and workflows as well. He noted that the County has the Forms module. 3 TSSERR Meeting Minutes March 10, 2015 A brief discussion followed on the reporting capabilities of FOIL/Special Event workflows, and the built in feature that provides reminders regularly to appropriate staff that they still need to provide information or indicate that they have no information or anything to add to the request. County IT Director Potter suggested that he might be able to work with other municipalities to set them up with a similar FOIL Workflow as the City. There was positive response from those at the meeting for this idea. Ithaca Town Clerk Terwilliger offered to be the point of contact for other municipalities to send her the current form they use for FOIL which she will then collate to provide to the County as it works on developing the FOIL workflow for other interested municipalities. Ms. Congdon stated that she e-mailed the village and the town clerks their log-in credentials for the “public folders” for their LF repositories. She encouraged everyone to rethink how and what is being done for different processes to see whether there are any updates or changes that could be made to simplify the process through the use of Forms and the Workflow modules. Information can be linked from websites to the LF public folder or she can create a "hyper-link" right in the document rather than directing someone to the website for a link. Let her know if you have questions or need assistance with anything. Town of Enfield – Laserfiche Projects: Ms. Reynolds reported that all the cookbooks that the Town of Enfield has are now in LF. This means that the public can search for any recipe easily, she encouraged everyone to take a look to see if there is a recipe they might like to try. In addition, they have placed a lot of historical documents; diaries, and old marriage information in their repository. Town of Groton – Laserfiche Projects: The Town of Groton has placed all of their "official" newspapers in their public repository. At different points in history there were different “official” newspapers for the Town of Groton, so it’s interesting to look at them and learn more about the town’s history. Shared Services Discussion: Ms. Reynolds asked everyone to complete the “Annual Savings Realized Survey” form distributed at the beginning of the meeting. She stated that once the survey is completed it can be sent to County Administrator Mareane, or if people are able to complete it today, she can forward them to him. She encouraged everyone to work to complete the survey as soon as they can. The goal of the survey and Tompkins County is to show a savings of 1% of the property tax levy for every municipality in the County. 4 TSSERR Meeting Minutes March 10, 2015 Status of Current Projects: Where are we? NYS still hasn't released the grant submission date; it will probably be April or May. She plans to submit a grant application and is proposing the scanning of all court records for all municipal courts (town and village only), and for additional LF licenses. She encouraged clerks to check court record rooms, but not to alarm the courts because we may or may not get a grant. NY State Archives is doing a lot of cutting of funding for municipalities. County IT Director Potter will be in Albany next Friday regarding the funding from State Archives related to the cutting back on grants by pushing the deadline for submission further and further back. Ms. Reynolds will use old letters from municipalities that support the County’s grant application to use for this grant cycle. She further reported that County soil and water records have been scanned and placed in LF; Cayuga Heights building permits, and police department records are all in LF. Schedule of Villages Information: Ms. Reynolds reported that Groton, Lansing, Trumansburg, and Freeville building permit records will be or are already in LF; that work needs to be completed by the end of June. In addition, Village of Groton maps will be scanned. Policy and Procedures: County IT Director Potter explained that as part of by-laws of this group, we need to discuss them related to our shared services agreements with the County. He distributed information regarding proposed policies to everyone (which are attached to the minutes). The first item deals with how the group will enact a particular policy, and outlines the review process as well as the amendment process. This group needs to review the policies as a group, and we need to be diligent about doing this review of all the policies and procedures every year. This way discussion can take place with everyone regarding any proposed changes or modifications that may need to be made to current policies. The next two policies relate to enforcement and sanctions of said policies; for example, the release of information that should not have been released. A question arises at that point as to whether it is that municipalities’ responsibility or the County’s to enforce the sanction. The County is just the custodian of records on its server. The next one is on developing standard procedures; right now everyone has their own FOIL process so trying to share workflows and forms is a good idea, where possible. He stated that what is important is that although this group was formed through policy at the County Legislature level, the first page outlines what a policy is and how to obtain support from each municipality for a proposed change to the current policy. The draft would need to be sent to members to review and provide input, and would be a starting 5 TSSERR Meeting Minutes March 10, 2015 point for conversations. It was confirmed that each municipality has control of its own repository in Laserfiche. Ms. Reynolds reported that when an application is made for a shared services grant, the State wants a policy and procedure in place. She further shared that other counties in New York State are following what Tompkins County has done with its shared services by-laws and policy and procedures. Ms. Reynolds noted that the County has a new policy and procedure manual; she encouraged everyone to visit the county’s website and view the “Administrative Manual”. She further stated that the next big items to work on would be to determine a policy on acceptance of electronic signatures so the County (and other municipalities) can say, definitively, that it accepts electronic signatures; the second one is the need to develop a policy/procedure for social media. She noted that once Tompkins County has these policies in place that other municipalities may want to implement them as well. County IT Director Potter stated that he would like this group to get through at least the first policy before its next meeting. He encouraged everyone to review the information he distributed, mark it up with any changes/edits, and e-mail it back to him. A question arose as to how a municipality can tell how many public are accessing their information online? Mr. Karasin responded that he posed this question to General Code representatives, and there isn't really anything that goes to that level of detail at this point in time. Ms. Reynolds stated that she would ask Laserfiche whether there might be enhancements made that would provide this information; she noted that Laserfiche is very receptive to new ideas. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah L. Myers, Information Management Specialist City of Ithaca – Department of Public Information & Technology Dated: April 2, 2015 6 Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk 320 N. Tioga Street  Ithaca, NY 14850 (607)274-5432 Fax (607)274-5445 Shared Data Systems Policy and Procedures March 2015 This manual is intended both to provide guidance and serve as a reference to users of all data generated, accessed, transmitted or stored on systems and networks managed or hosted by Tompkins County. It is the responsibility of each user to comply with the policies and procedures set forth within this publication. It is understood that the records management of electronic public information is dynamic, and that it is impossible to anticipate every circumstance that may confront a TSSERR member. In situations that are not addressed within these policies, users are expected to respond and act in a way that ultimately reflects Tompkins County, and/or their respective agency’s, mission statement and priorities. Policies and procedures exist to maintain high levels of professional conduct, data integrity and overall records security. Therefore, conduct that deviates from these written standards will first be reviewed to determine if the situation required a deviation from stated policy, and will then be reviewed to determine whether the actions taken were appropriate, given the actual situation. Finally, the policies written for information transmitted or stored on systems and networks managed or hosted by Tompkins County are only a part of the direction provided to users. Written communication that is directive in nature from individual municipality supervisory or management personnel that is specific to the management of records or business processes unique to each TSSERR member has the same authority as any policy. Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk320 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850(607)274-5432Fax (607)274-5445 POLICY/PROCEDURE #: TSSERR14-01 TITLE: Adoption of Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Policy and Procedures EFFECTIVE DATE: 00/00/2015 NEXT SCHEDULED REVIEW: 00/00/2016 REFERENCES: Tompkins County Resolution #RES-2013-161 TSSERR By Laws, Adopted 10/01/2013 TSSERR Agreement, Adopted 10/01/2013 MODIFIED DATE: Objective: To create a process for establishing new policy and procedures; modifying existing policy and procedures; and periodically reviewing and updating policies and procedures associated with the duties, powers and responsibilities defined by the Bylaws and User Group Agreement for the Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository (TSSERR) group as approved, and originally granted authority by, the Tompkins County Resolution #RES-2013-161. Policy Statement: It is the policy of TSSERR to have a manual of policies and administrative procedures that govern the shared responsibilities of technology systems and related data, and to have a process for keeping the TSSERR Policy Manual up to date. General Information: TSSERR is responsible for coordinating and tracking additions or revisions to the TSSERR Policy Manual according to the steps outlined in the procedures section below. These steps have been established to ensure that introduced policies and procedures are initiated, reviewed or updated and implemented, based on the following criteria: 1. The need for a new policy and/or procedure has been identified; 2. A change in federal, state, or local law or requirements has affected existing policy/procedure; 3. A change due to labor contract negotiations or personnel management has affected existing policy/procedure; 4. The policy/procedure has not been reviewed within the past year. (Refer to the “next scheduled review date” included in the heading of the policy/procedure description.) 5.The policy/procedure in question no longer reflects actual practice, or inadequately addresses changed conditions. Any member of TSSERR can initiate requests for additions, updates, or modifications to the TSSERR Policy Manual at any point in time. However, all requests must be submitted via the TSSERR Policy Manual Change Request Form and submitted to the TSSERR Administrative Support Staff for processing and tracking. TSSERR approval is required for new policies/procedures or modifications to existing policies/procedures to ensure consistency and accuracy. 6. Approval of new, or the modification of previously adopted TSSERR Policy and Procedures, shall follow the voting procedures as established in the TSSERR By-Laws. Definitions: Policy -A statement of intention to guide political, management, financial, or administrative decisions and achieve rational outcome(s). TSSERR approval is required for new policies or modifications to existing policies. Procedure -A prescribed and documented set of steps, actions, or activities generally needed to obtain consistent results as documented within a defined and approved TSSERR policy. Requesting Member -TSSERR Member municipality initiating the new or modified TSSERR Policy. Administrative Support Staff -The department or division within the County organizational structure responsible for assisting in preparation, and dissemination of, new or updated TSSERR policies or procedures, and for routinely reviewing adopted policies or procedures associated with TSSERR. TSSERR Policy Manual Change Request Form – To be completed by Requesting Member and forwarded to TSSERR Administrative Support Staff for process and tracking. TSSERR Policy Manual Impact Review Form -To be completed by TSSERR Members and forwarded to TSSERR Administrative Support Staff for process and tracking. Procedure: TSSERR approval is required for new policies or for modifications to existing policy. The following steps are required for introducing new policy or for updating/revising existing policy: Step 1. The TSSERR Requesting Member completes a TSSERR Policy Manual Change Request Form and submits the suggested modification to the TSSERR Administrative Support Staff for processing and tracking. Step 2. The TSSERR Administrative Support Staff will forward the proposed new or revised policy to all TSSERR members for review. Members will review and submit recommended changes or comments, via the TSSERR Policy Impact Review Form, to the TSSERR Administrative Support Staff for tracking and dissemination. Members will have 15 days from date of dissemination to submit the TSSERR Policy Impact Review Form to TSSERR Administrative Support Staff. Step 3. The TSSERR Administrative Support Staff will prepare a verbatim summary of all recommendations and comments received and will forward the summary to the Requesting Member. The Requesting Member shall be responsible for the preparation of the final draft based on recommended modifications. Step 4. The Requesting Member will forward the new or revised policy and any supporting documentation to the TSSERR Administrative Support Staff for inclusion on the next TSSERR monthly agenda. Note: If the new or revised policy is not approved, Steps 2-4, or a combination of these, may be repeated until either the policy i s approved or tabled for consideration at a later date. Step 5. TSSERR Administrative Support Staff will track all results, notify all TSSERR members, and make the final changes to the TSSERR Policy Manual. Step 6. Once adopted, TSSERR Member agencies will be individually responsible for the dissemination, communication, training and enforcement process(es) necessary to implement the new or modified TSSERR policy within their own government by the effective date as defined in the policy header. Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk320 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850(607)274-5432Fax (607)274-5445 POLICY/PROCEDURE #: TITLE: EFFECTIVE DATE: NEXT SCHEDULED REVIEW: REFERENCES: MODIFIED DATE: Objective: Policy Statement: General Information: Definitions: Procedure: Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk320 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850(607)274-5432Fax (607)274-5445 POLICY/PROCEDURE #: TITLE: REQUESTOR: CHANGE REQUEST DATE: REFERENCES: MODIFIED DATE: CHANGE REQUEST FORM COMPLETE A FORM FOR EACH TYPE OF REQUEST Type of Request (select all that apply): New policy New procedure Revision to existing policy Revision to existing procedure Description of Change Request (Sections I and II must be completed): Section I: Briefly Explain the Recommended Change: (Identify sections and paragraphs if changing existing policy or procedure) Section II: Explain the reason for the suggested text General Comments: (Optional): Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk320 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850(607)274-5432Fax (607)274-5445 POLICY IMPACT REVIEW FORM Section I: How will this new policy impact your work or operation? Section II: What new or revised language are you recommending? Section III: What impact will this new/revised policy or procedure have on other existing policy or procedure? Section IV: General Comments or Questions: (Optional): Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk320 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850(607)274-5432Fax (607)274-5445 POLICY/PROCEDURE #: TSSERR 14-02 TITLE: Enforcement and Sanction EFFECTIVE DATE: 00/00/2015 NEXT SCHEDULED REVIEW: 00/00/2016 REFERENCES: Tompkins County Resolution #RES-2013-161 TSSERR By Laws, Adopted 10/01/2013 TSSERR Agreement, Adopted 10/01/2013 MODIFIED DATE: Objective: It is the responsibility of each TSSERR member to ensure all members of its workforce comply with the policies formally adopted by TSSERR by applying remedial measures and sanctions appropriate for the breach of policy. Policy Statement: Each TSSERR member will define and implement appropriate actions for any violation of TSSERR policy or procedure. In addition, each TSSERR member agrees to uphold specific sanctions when defined by individual TSSERR policy. TSSERR will immediately investigate any security incidents or violations and mitigate, to the greatest extent possible, any negative effects that may result from the incident. TSSERR member will not intimidate or retaliate against any other TSSERR member or individual that reports an incident. General Information: This policy applies to all TSSERR members including, but not limited to full-time employees, part-time employees, trainees, volunteers, contractors, elected officials and temporary workers. Definitions: Policy -A statement of intention to guide political, management, financial, or administrative decisions and achieve rational outcome(s). TSSERR approval is required for new policies or modifications to existing policies. Procedure -A prescribed and documented set of steps, actions, or activities generally needed to obtain consistent results as documented within a defined and approved TSSERR policy. Procedure: Failure to comply with adopted TSSERR Policies will be brought to review at the next scheduled TSSERR meeting. Any compliance failure that includes possible security incidents or violation may result in immediate suspension of the involved user(s) privileges by Tompkins County until review by TSSERR. Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository Tompkins County Clerk320 N. Tioga Street Ithaca, NY 14850(607)274-5432Fax (607)274-5445 POLICY/PROCEDURE #: TSSERR 14-03 TITLE: Data Standards – Laserfiche EFFECTIVE DATE: 00/00/2015 NEXT SCHEDULED REVIEW: 00/00/2016 REFERENCES: Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository – Laserfiche Standards MODIFIED DATE: Objective: The purpose of this policy is for the Data Custodian to define the appropriate standards for information entered, stored or managed into the Laserfiche Electronic Document Management System. Policy Statement: All members entering, storing or managing information in the Laserfiche Electronic Document Management System are responsible for protecting the integrity of this information. General Information: Electronic Document Management is defined as the process and standards governing the structure of information entered, stored or managed into an application. This policy applies to all members that enter information into Laserfiche, including, but not limited to full-time employees, part-time employees, trainees, volunteers, contractors, elected officials and temporary workers. Definitions: Policy -A statement of intention to guide political, management, financial, or administrative decisions and achieve rational outcome(s). TSSERR approval is required for new policies or modifications to existing policies. Procedure -A prescribed and documented set of steps, actions, or activities generally needed to obtain consistent results as documented within a defined and approved TSSERR policy. Data Custodian – Individual or agency responsible for maintaining hosted systems, hardware, software and applications which support TSSERR services. For the purposes of this policy, Tompkins County is considered the data custodian. Procedure: Due to the various agencies entering data into the Laserfiche system, standards must be defined by the Data Custodian in compliance with Tompkins County, TSSERR, and local, state, and federal governmental procedures and regulations regarding the structure and integrity of locally maintained Laserfiche data. 1. The Data Custodian will define and document the standards for entering, storing or managing information in the Laserfiche Electronic Document Management System through the use of the Tompkins Shared Services Electronic Records Repository – Laserfiche Standards document.