The initiative failed to pass through City Council, reaching a 4-4 split decision on three separate votes, but was written into the budget earlier this year and evaluated by the finance committee.
The chief technology officer position was then created by the Board of Civil Services to oversee the function of the IT division of the utilities department and leading the development and implementation of city-wide information technology strategies. The annual salary for the position is $85,000.
“While much of it has been a technical discussion, much of it has also focused on the organizational development of the city from the standpoint of the data that we collect in various parts and pieces,” said Mayor David Berger.
The initiative was born about three years ago with the upgrade of the utility department’s billing and collection software and meter replacements.
“As we did that, we basically began to ask questions about other systems that the city has in place,” Berger said. “That led to a discussion about the talent that we have and that we need to be able to grow and foster the best possible systems for serving the community as effectively as possible. About a year ago we looked at it and decided we needed to rethink the language of our organization, staffing, this set of needs.”
Bayliff has worked with the City of Lima since 2006 and previously held the position of network administrator, which is now vacant.
“Nathan Bayliff has been with the city for years and he knows everyone quite well and works well with them,” said Utilities Director Mike Caprella. “Now that he’s at this executive-level staff position, it will be great for the city in terms of what we’re doing now and what we’re going to be doing in the future with the Smart City Initiative.”
©2019 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
