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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT LETTER OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPT (IT) BOARD OF ASSESSORS (B0A)TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT LETTER OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE AUGUSTA, GA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT (IT) AND THE RICHMOND COUNTY BOARD OF ASSESSORS (BOA) This Letter of Agreement (LOA) is entered into by and between the Richmond County Board of Assessors (BOA) — sometimes referred to as the Tax Assessor's Office (TAO) - and the Augusta Information Technology Department (IT) in order to establish parameters for the relationship between the parties specifically for Internet, Intranet, Geographic Information System (GIS) and mapping - related activities. This program will provide a framework for cooperation between the departments, assign responsibilities for technology - related activities, and define the administrative roles for the departments where the maintenance of existing technology and the implementation of new technology are concerned. 1. BACKGROUND Information Technology has worked with past Chief Appraisers and staff in order to provide technology improvements for the BOA, including parcel editing, GIS data layer maintenance, and an online parcel search utilized by City Departments and the public. This Letter of Agreement (LOA) formalizes the relationship between IT and the BOA so that the responsibilities of all the parties are clear. 2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES 2.1. Except where indicated in this document, the relationship between Augusta IT and the BOA shall be governed by the Augusta Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy. Provisions in this LOA shall supersede provisions in the Acceptable Use Policy only for the BOA and only under the conditions described herein. 2.2. IT is the keeper of the city's technology infrastructure and as such is entitled and required to make policies and institute procedures intended to protect the integrity of that infrastructure. 2.3. IT is the city's provider of technology- related products and services such as Internet, Intranet, servers, email, telephony, data backup and restore, software, wireless communications, and desktop equipment such as printers, monitors, scanners, etc. 2.4. The BOA provides and defends uniform fair market values on all taxable properties in Richmond County to establish an equitable digest for the State and to provide to the Augusta Commission, the Board of Education, and the Tax Commissioner, information to levy and collect property taxes. As such, the BOA requires dependable and progressive technology that will facilitiate this mission. 2.5. As responsible stewards of public funds, BOA and IT are committed to implementing and managing optimal technology in the most efficient and cost - effective manner. 2.6. Neither party to this agreement shall take any action in the course of operations that will endanger the integrity of Augusta's computer network or data stored therein. Both parties agree to communicate extensively with each other to ensure that understanding and cooperation are maintained at the highest level. 2.7. BOA agrees to involve IT in any negotiations or discussion with vendors of hardware or software that is intended for use on any computer device that is hosted on Augusta's computer network. 2.8. IT will supply BOA with in -house technical support for GIS, MS Office Products, PC and peripheral hardware, CAMA and related software support, and network connectivity. IT will Information Technology - Board of Assessors LOA Page 1 also diagnose software problems, including Pictometry- related troubleshooting. If the problem requires additional troubleshooting support IT will open a work order with the application support team for the respective software and work with them to resolve issues. IT response time will be dependent on the external support of software vendors. 2.9. Based on the provisions in this section and the sections to follow, IT retains right of refusal to install, implement, support, maintain, or link to various products and /or services that are obtained through means external to IT and without IT sanction. 3. INTERNET PRESENCE 3.1. Official Web Presence 3.1.1. In order to maintain uniformity of appearance and ease of public interaction, the official city web presence at www.augustaga.gov is to be preserved as the official web presence of the BOA. 3.1.2. IT provides services and support of the city internet and intranet presence, and is available at the convenience of the BOA to make modifications to the page(s), create forms as requested, make forms and documents available for download, issue and compile surveys, provide links to other sites of interest, and develop new content depending on new BOA initiatives or State of Georgia requirements. 3.2. Online Parcel Search 3.2.1. IT will continue to provide Augusta's official parcel search website both internally for Augusta Departments and externally for the public. IT will coordinate with BOA and review requests by BOA on information provided to the public but will not limit access of data to the public that is necessary for business purposes. 3.2.2. Should BOA contract with a third party to provide parcel and other BOA data search capabilities, IT shall participate in all negotiations and reserves the right to place conditions on any third party in order to protect the integrity of the network and data stored on IT servers. 3.2.3. Graphic button links from Augusta's main web page will link to the city's official GIS presence as maintained by the IT Department. 4. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) & MAPPING 4.1. IT will be responsible for GIS Parcel Polygon editing, neighborhoods, subdivisions, and other GIS data as required. 4.2. BOA will provide a weekly update of parcel edits and regular updates on other layers as changes BOA makes affect GIS data. 4.3. Third -Party Data Requests 4.3.1.Incidental / Occasional: All requests from third parties for GIS or database information will be routed to the Information Technology GIS Division (IT -GIS) via a formal email request. for export and release to both public and private entities, to ensure this data is the most current for release. 4.3.2. Scheduled: BOA will provide an official schedule of updates to be provided to any third - party contractor in order to ensure that Augusta's official GIS /parcel search website does not conflict with the data presented on sites external to the organization. Requests for scheduled release of data will be copied via a formal email to IT. Information Technology - Board of Assessors LOA Page 2 5. DIGITAL IMAGERY (ORTHO & OBLIQUE) 5.1. All contract negotiations with any vendor engaged in the sale of products or services related to the acquisition of oblique /ortho imagery will include a representative from IT with a familiarity of the requirements needed to fulfill providing accurate data to both the public and other City Departments. 5.2. All requests for imagery, to include requests for export and release, whether from public or private entities, shall be forwarded to ensure that the Georgia Open Records Act requirements are satisfied and to ensure that the requested data is the most current for release. 5.3. Storage space for acquisitions of digital imagery that are not funded through IT initiatives and/or according to IT's schedule shall be funded by the BOA. Storage shall be located on a device within IT' s citywide network. 6. PROPERTY OWNERSHIP RECORDS MANAGEMENT 6.1. Due to advances in technology, exposure to the public via website, and the interconnecting of internal city business software applications, property ownership records have become an important asset for users of information both internally and externally; therefore, BOA staff will seek to enter transfers of ownership within one month of the date on which the transfer is recorded, with consideration granted for staffing and workload issues. BOA will work with IT and the Clerk of Court to determine more efficient business processes that will enable Augusta to shorten the timeframe in which this data is published. 6.2. Mapping Responsibility: IT is responsible for the Cadastral Maps via editing of parcel data by the integration of CAD data submitted to Planning and Development (P &D) from engineering firms and splits /combines provided by BOA. 6.3. Property Identification Number (PIN) Assignment: IT will also assign PIN numbers to parcels at the time they are created in order to make this data immediately available to other City Departments including P &D for issuing permits on new properties. This business process change will allow properties to be moved quickly through the system and be added to the tax digest. 7. COMPUTER AIDED MASS APPRAISAL (CAMA) MANAGEMENT 7.1. IT shall host the BOA CAMA system (and other ancillary vendor - purchased or in -house developed systems) on servers located in IT's computer center or at IT's disaster recovery site. 7.2. BOA resolves to assist IT and the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) by supplying testing resources in order to facilitate the implementation and continued operation of WinGAP SQL at Richmond County. 7.3. BOA understands and agrees that their data can be copied regularly for use by other departments for their software and database analysis processes. 8. OVERSIGHT The Chief Appraiser, the IT Director, the IT -GIS Project Leader, and a staff member from the BOA (designated by the Chief Appraiser) shall be the members of an oversight committee that will meet as necessary to discuss the status of this relationship. 9. DURATION Contingent upon Commission approval, this agreement shall become effective upon the date of signature of both parties and shall remain in force until amended, terminated, replaced by mutual agreement, or until superseded by executive or Commission action. Information Technology - Board of Assessors LOA Page 3 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Letter of Agreement has been executed by each party on the date set forth below. Aug to Infori,, ' : ology i ector Signature Tameka Allen Printed Name II (`>i ), to Rich _ _ >.:...: oard of Assessors Chief Appraiser Signature Alveno Ross Printed 4 e " / •01/ Date L Information Technology - Board of Assessors LOA Page 4