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Mr. Simonoff called the meeting to order at 1:50 p.m. In lieu of roll-call, Mr. Simonoff asked the members present to introduce themselves.
Approval of Minutes
At 2:00 p.m., Mr. Simonoff made a motion to approve the July 2002 Authority meeting minutes. The motion was seconded and approved eight votes to zero.
Mr. Doss requested that business requiring Authority action be moved up on the agenda to allow those needing to depart the meeting to do so following votes of the board.
Agency Agreements
Mr. Willett presented one interagency agreement. This agreement encompassed three projects for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF). The first project, a current service provided by Virginia Interactive, required renewal. The next project, a database similar to the boat registration, will be used for hunting and fishing licensees and would be a fee based service. The third project, a citizen service for online registra-tion renewal for citizen boat owners is a specific directive of the governor’s strategic plan. It will be funded with a user fee of $1.50 for each transaction. DGIF has agreed to cover credit card fees.
A motion was made to approve the agreement and was seconded. The vote was eight votes to zero in favor of approving the agreement.
Nominations Committee
Ms. Woodward explained the criteria and parameters for determining a slate of officers. The main issue was that of geography, based on the need for signatures on the Author-ity’s financial documents. Executive committee members in Richmond would allow for a timely decision or signature that would be impractical with distant officers. Ms. Woodward also noted the Nominations Committee’s desire to bring new membership onto the Executive Committee. As a result, the committee recommended Mr. Worley as chairman of the Authority, Mr. Jones as vice chairman and Mr. Simonoff as secretary.
A motion was made to approve the new slate of officers and was seconded. The vote was eight votes to zero in favor of approving the executive committee officers.
Next Meeting
Mr. Doss requested that the next meeting be held December 12th at noon. That request was agreed to by board members present.
Executive Director's Report
Mr. Doss informed the board that JCOTS may be discussing the idea of liberalizing elec-tronic meeting parameters. The current rules for audio/visual meetings have precluded VIPNet from conducting such meetings.
Mr. Doss also discussed several aspects of operating with a formal committee structure. He noted that the need for taking a detailed look at special issues before the Authority occurred more on a sporadic than regular basis, and he recommended that for the current time the Authority should continue to relay upon ad hoc committees as has become the practice over the last year. He also reported that members would be invited with some regularity for brief sessions to learn about ongoing projects and activities whenever there may be a need between scheduled business meetings of the Authority. He noted that these meetings would be open to the public per FOIA code but that no business would be transacted.
Mr. Doss mentioned the change assessment project that he and Mr. Prible are working on for Secretary Newstrom. In addition, Mr. Doss mentioned that the auditor of public ac-counts should have a report for the board by the December meeting.
Network Manager's Report
Mr. Willett mentioned the “VIPNet highlights” a website with reports to the governor concerning the awards that VIPNet has received. Mr. Willett reiterated the importance of his staff and the possibility of losing some of them as a result of the budget cuts. Mr. Byrd raised the question of the common look and feel that Secretary Newstrom shared in his briefing and how VIPNet can help agencies in this process. Mr. Willett answered that VIPNet will be playing a big part in this transition, but that details were yet to be worked out regarding how this work for the agencies would be managed. Mr. Simonoff indicated that the strategic plan has set up a template for other agencies to follow.
Ms. Woodward raised the question about legislation for VIPNet. Mr. Doss informed the board that there may be some legislation that will effect VIPNet, but there are no
proposals dealing directly with the VIPNet statute. He indicated that legislation is more likely to focus on IT consolidation and the budget.
Ms. Smith reported on awards to VIPNet including the “Best of the Web” award. Vir-ginia placed first out of 350 entries. Mr. Huang was present in New York City to accept the award on behalf of the Commonwealth. The Center for Digital Government awarded Virginia the “Best of the Breed” award for absentee ballot tracking.
Ms. Woodward asked whether Virginia would lose the online election results service as a result of the budget. Mr. Willett answered that because it takes a great deal of resources, the service might have to be cut despite receiving awards. Ms. Smith informed the board that several of Virginia’s internet services might be cut as a result of the budget crisis.
Public Comment
Mr. Landon, with the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, congratulated VIPNet for its awards. He also thanked VIPNet for being one of the first state entities to consistently post meeting minutes electronically on the Internet, and asked that VIPNet will continue to lead the way in providing citizens with open information. Mr. Landon also stated his wishes that VIPNet will continue to fulfill its original mission, as laid out in its founding statutes, to maximize the availability of free services to citizens.
Adjournment
At 2:40pm, with no further business, Mr. Simonoff asked for a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded and approved.
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