Agenda Packets - 1995/03/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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` FEB-21 —95 TUE 04 :00 PM MN HOUSING PAr2 I lite. z.r, . r - - - Project/Organization Background Statement of Weed Local government use of on-line electronic network services, such as electronic mail and searchable government information sites, has become an important issue for a number of reasons--the most important of these are convenience, improved communications, and low e spite_this,-hwever,—ti-e services remain under-used and one area, the use of electronic communications networks to facilitate intergovernmental information interchange, has been left unaddressed in Minnesota. This is unfortunate because electronic communications services can efficiently link governments throughout Minnesota, lead to exciting improvements in intergovernmental cooperation and information interchange, and forge new partnerships between metropolitan area governments and local governments in Greater Minnesota. It is interesting to note that citizens, who are familiar with the Internet, have to some degree led the way to identification of local governments' need to tap the convenience, power, and speed of electronic communications networks. Citizens who use the Internet and other electronic communications networks know that linking local governments via networks would allow them to use electronic mail to easily reach other local officials. They know also that securing copies of city ordinances and reports from other local governments can be as easy as navigating through menus and making menu selections. They know that software, which easily locates on-line information on specific topics, could allow governments throughout Minnesota to find needed information--information that could, for example, save time and money when new ordinances or regulations are developed. The savings of time and money occur because electronic communications capabilities can be provided for relatively little cost. While each local government could develop its own site on the Internet for $100,000 to $300,000 per year, an approach that involves sharing of both equipment and staff expertise with others means high-quality services for far lower costs. The knowledge that there are solid reasons for establishing on-line local government sharing does not, unfortunately, provide answers to the host of practical questions involved in establishing such sharing. A few of the practical questions are listed below. • How much will a high-quality service cost even when shared resources are used, What specific communications services should be provided? What computer and disk storage capacity is needed to provide information and to respond to requests? What software most easily converts documents created by a specific word processing package to the form needed for use on a communications network?