"The board appreciates all the contributions Dr. Toregas has made at PTI," said Brian O'Neill, chairman of the board. "In his new capacity, Dr. Toregas will devote his time to not only providing counsel to PTI, but also extend his public-sector industry knowledge through writing, teaching and research."
Toregas joined PTI when it was established back in 1971 by the major local government associations. In 1985 Toregas took over as president of PTI at a time when its future looked uncertain. Massive cuts in federal funding significantly reduced the organization's revenue, while budget pressures at the local level hurt PTI's membership. As PTI's new president, Toregas focused on creating new revenue-generating programs based on what he called "public enterprise." He used PTI's small but influential membership to leverage cost-cutting deals with private-sector technology firms and helped local governments license software programs they developed in-house. The somewhat controversial strategy was able to generate revenue, stabilize the membership organization and open the door to a number of new research and development programs that fostered technology solutions at the local level.
While president, Toregas introduced one of the first e-mail systems ever used in the public sector, well before the Internet, and he pioneered a fire station location software program that helped usher in GIS for local governments. Toregas also led PTI's member jurisdictions to become some of the first governments to establish Web sites, well in advance of many state and federal agencies.
