COMMUNITY Meeting the Challenges In Imperial Cou

Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003

• Speed of outputs

• Quality and Quantity of

“SMART” GOVERNMENT IN A

outputs.

LESS-ADVANTAGED

• Cost-effectiveness of out-puts.

COMMUNITY:

Speed, Quality-Quantity, and Cost-

Meeting the Challenges In

Effectiveness of outputs by u of IT rves

Imperial County

modern bureaucracies in veral key ways: 1) In

its Bureaucratic Supporting Function—it assists

human resource executed process, such

Breena E. Coates, Ph.D.

decisionmaking, communications, and decision

School of Public Administration

implementation using data sources, data

manipulators and organizers, etc. 2) In its

San Diego State University-IVC

Bureaucratic Supplanting Function—it

automates (and may also eliminate) existing

human resource executed process, such as

Abstract: The new tools of e-government have

storing, processing and outputting information.

begun to address and diffu the weakness of

3) In its Bureaucratic Innovating Function—it

government rvice delivery in the 21

st

century.

provides new IT-executed public rvices. IT

The state of California among other states has a

technology provides the new and expanded

strategic vision to add to its orderly, stable

rvices 4) to Internal Management—for its

structures of bureaucracy, the virtues of speed,

operational requirements, such as planning and

cost-effectiveness, and quality and quantity of

budgeting; to 5) Public Administration

respon to citizens that e-government provides.

Regulatory requirements, such as its legal,

Imperial County, California was chon as the

judicial and fiscal needs; 6) to Public Services—

site for discussion of how less-advantaged

such as education, health, transportation, public

communities in California are addressing e-

utilities, etc.; 7) to its Dismination of Public

government. One partnership between two

Information requirements, such as press releas,

governmental entities—The Imperial County

government data collection (such as

Office of Education and the Imperial County

demographics and statistics); policies,

Irrigation District, named Project EdNet—was

performance indicators, etc. (Heeks, 16, 1999).

chon for this paper as the working example to

This paper relates primarily to issue #3,

examine how the issues of the digital divide,

innovation; issue # 6, expansion of public

democracy and equity can positively impact the

rvice; and issue # 7, the dismination of

citizens of less-advantaged communities in

information.

Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003

• it enhances regional

Campus, local city libraries and other public

development;

agencies access to this communication network.

• it provides models for

replication in other

While the above reprents the first

communities;

pha of the project, the IVTA partnership is

• it builds bridges for future

more ambitious than that. The entrepreneurial

development;

model can accommodate other public agencies in

• it leads to a n of shared

the area beyond schools and education facilities.

communitarian values for

It is envisioned that member agencies from

technology

various public organizations will come on board

entrepreneurship;

once the system is in place.

• provides empowerment to less-

advantaged communities.

This entrepreneurial venture satisfies

the two important components identified by

We e the above issues played out in

Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003

As the types of intergovernmental

collaboration with city and government officials.

relationships become more common they are

IVTA’s efforts now provide for better meaning

being known as GSPs or government rvice

to the term “enterpri community.” It will

providers. Rather than contracting with a private

empower this community to learn, work, and

company, cities find it easier to contract with

compete in the next millennium with much

GSPs who can better understand their

needed technology resources and improved

governmental constraints and challenges.

access to information.

Governments are thus generating revenue out of

marketing es.

2.4. Digital Divide and Democracy

Concerns: The geographic isolation, and limited

2.2. Addressing The State’s Mission

economic resources of the Imperial Valley has to

for E-Government: One important priority of

date been a factor in slower educational,

California Governor Gray Davis has been to

economic and social growth of the region.

improve informational technology for

Becau of this there have always been concerns

governmental agencies in California. The Little

about lack of access and opportunity in this less-

Hoover Commission, 2000, revealed the

advantaged region compared with other

surprising fact that despite California’s fame as

Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003

Authority, which will then become the property

particular the agency eks to provide

of the Authority. Each member local public

precautions to ensure that the

agency will also contribute voluntarily technical

telecommunications network is not overloaded

experti and time of their own employees to the

or excessively utilized. The IVTA has t up

Authority. Savings will occur also via the cost-

guidelines to ensure that the applicable

sharing agreement related to the joint

governmental laws and regulations are not

development, operations, maintenance and

violated. The agency has also t up procedures

growth of the network by each member local

for the removal of any member agency that has

public agency.

failed to meet its obligations under the agreement

with IVTA.

2.6. Keeping Resources Within the

Region: The existence of IVTA will help retain

SUMMARY:

and recruit valuable resources within the

Imperial Valley. Thus the potential threat

Bureaucracy, which has been associated

expresd across the nation that small, less

with stability, slowness, and limited outputs, has

advantaged communities might find their

taken on its antithesis—flexibility, speed, and

rvices being outsourced—e.g., personnel

expansion of outputs in the electronic age. While

Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003

The Emerging Digital Economy II, U.S.

Frisn, P.H., Politics, Governance and

Department of Commerce, June 1999.

Technology: A Postmodern Narrative on the

Virtual State, 1999, translated C. Emery,

…..

Cheltenham Publishers, U.K.

Heeks, R., Reinventing Government in the

APPENDIX I:

Information Age, 1999, Routledge, U.K.

All states have some form of e-

Http:/center/Final-

government in place. States have been

.

ranked by their digital readiness in a

survey, the results of which are

Isaac-Henry, K., “Management of Information

prented below. This survey was

Technology in the Public Sector,” in Painter, C.

and C. Barnes, (eds.), Management in the Public

conducted by three entities: The Center

Sector, 1997, International Press, London, U.K.

for Digital Government, the Progress

and Freedom Foundation, and

Lefebvre, L.A., E. Lefebvre and P. Mohnen,

Government Technology Magazine

Doing Business in the Knowledge-Bad

(http:

Economy, 2000, Kulwer Publishers, Boston

/center/Final-

Lefebvre, L.A. and E. Lefebvre, Management of

):

Technology & Regional Development in the

Global Environment, 1995, P. Chapman

State Points Rank

Publishers, London.

Washington 93.0 1

Loader, B. D.,ed., Cyberspace Divide: Equality,

Kansas 89.0 2

Agency and Policy in the Information Society,

Alaska 84.1 3

1998, Routledge Publishers, London .

Illinois 81.5 4

Utah 80.1 5

New Jery 79.1 6

NAPA, Business Process Reengineering, 1994,

Georgia 78.8 7

National Academy of Public Administration,

Wisconsin 77.3 8

Washington, D.C.

Maryland 77.1 9

Texas 76.4 10

O’Looney, J., Local Government On-Line:

Michigan 75.8 11

Putting the Internet to Work, 2000, Management

Pennsylvania 73.4 12

Association Publication, Washington, D.C.

Idaho 70.4 13

Nebraska 69.8 14

Schiller, H.I., Information Inequality: The

South Dakota 69.8 15

Deepening Social Crisis in America, 1996,

Virginia 69.4 16

Routledge Publishers, N.Y.

Arizona 68.0 17

Louisiana 67.5 18

Tan, M. and M. Igbaria, eds., The Virtual

Nevada 66.4 19

Workplace, Idea Group Publishers, Hershey,

Iowa 65.8 20

U.S.A.

Colorado 65.1 21

Missouri 63.9 22

Tapscott, D., Growing Up Digital: The Ri of

Oregon 63.4 23

the Net Generation, 1998, McGraw-Hill, N.Y.

West Virginia 63.3 24

Florida 63.1 25

The Little Hoover Commission, :

Indiana 62.9 26

Engineering Technology—Enhanced Gover-

Connecticut 62.4 27

nment, State of California, November 2000.

Massachutts 62.4 28

Kentucky 61.3 29

Ohio 60.8 30

0-7695-1874-5/03 $17.00 (C) 2003 IEEE5

Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2003

Arkansas 60.1 31

South Carolina 59.8 32

New York 58.4 33

Montana 57.1 34

Maine 57.0 35

North Carolina 57.0 36

Minnesota 56.1 37

Mississippi 56.1 38

Delaware 54.8 39

Tenne 51.0 40

New Hampshire 50.9 41

California 49.6 42

Hawaii 49.6 43

Okalahoma 47.1 44

Wyoming 47.0 45

Vermont 42.3 46

North Dakota 41.1 47

New Mexico 40.0 48

Alabama 35.3 49

Rhode Island 30.0 50