City departments to share tech support
A decision to merge computer systems and share technical support
between five city departments to cut costs drew protests from library
staff and residents who contend it needs its own specialized programs
and attention.
The City Council approved the plan to alter the city’s information
services department, which provides technological support to all city
departments, 3 to 2 Monday night to shave about $1 million from the
budget.
Instead of having separate employees performing similar functions
in different departments, a smaller team of technicians will be
cross-trained to serve all departments from a central location.
“I can’t not support saving $1 million when layoff notices went to
39 people last week,” Mayor Connie Boardman said.
The consolidation will also shrink the number of full-time
computer specialists at the library from three to one, said Janis
Ingels, director of Information Services.
A handful of library supporters spoke out against reorganization,
arguing that the library has special needs and would suffer if its
technology staff was reduced.
“Computer experts know about computers, but do they know about
library catalogs? I don’t think so,” Surf City resident Joan Rambo
said at the Monday night City Council meeting.
Combining the departments would benefit the outdated library
computer system by bringing it up to par with the other city systems,
Asst. City Manager Bill Workman said.
“The uniqueness of the library system is that it’s nearing
obsolescence,” Workman said. “We need to migrate into something more
generic and more commonly used.”
The library system serves the public in the library well now,
Workman said, but it takes a lot of time and energy.
“I think it’s going to be a change, but based on the current
financial system, it’s going to provide an excellent level of service
for the library,” Workman said.
After a debate, the council voted to approve the consolidation
rather than postpone the issue to study effects on the library with
the library board, as suggested by Councilman Dave Sullivan and
supported by Councilwomen Debbie Cook.
“I feel it’s going to irritate the library board that they haven’t
been a part of this whole process,” Sullivan said.
The reorganization will go into effect Aug. 1.
Coastline celebrates county’s visionaries
Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, humanitarian Frank Jao,
philanthropist Olga E. Niebla and Thomas Parham, assistant vice
chancellor for Counseling and Health Services, were awarded Coastline
Community College’s 2003 Visionary Awards.
“It may be June gloom outside, but it’s June joy for us,”
President Ding-Jo H. Currie said at the college’s annual luncheon,
held to honor four people who have worked to improve the lives of
Orange County residents.
Coastline Community College educates 12,000 students at eight
different sites throughout Orange County -- Huntington Beach, Costa
Mesa, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach,
Seal Beach and Westminster.
“When we say that the community college value is the best bargain
in town, we mean it,” Currie said.
Niebla, a community leader with a focus on education and cultural
awareness dedicated the award to “students who work so hard to
receive an education.”
Carona, once nicknamed “America’s Sheriff” by CNN’s Larry King,
accepted the plaque on behalf of the entire Orange County Sheriff’s
Department and then dropped it. It can now sit on at least two desks.
He also presented the college a $5,000 award of his own on behalf of
the Mike Carona Foundation.
Jao, creator of the Asian Garden Mall, an indoor retail complex in
Orange County’s Little Saigon, oversees numerous real estate realty
services and investment companies. He is also a member of the
Coastline Community College Foundation’s board of directors.
“Thank you for reassuring me that giving back to the community can
make a difference,” Jao said, accepting the award.
Parham is a member of the National Assn. of Black Psychologists
and the American Counseling Assn. and host of the annual African
American Business Summit.
“There is no greater blessing than being entrusted with the
emotional, intellectual and spiritual life of young people,” Parham
said.
Coerper appoints new planning commissioner
City Councilman Gil Coerper announced Thursday that he would
appoint Community Services Commissioner John Scandura to fill the
empty seat on the Planning Commission.
The appointment was approved by the City Council on Monday night.
Scandura will fill the gap left by former commissioner Keith Bohr,
who resigned after allegations that he misused his position in the
city.
Scandura will resign from the Community Services Commission to
become a planning commissioner.
An eight-year Huntington Beach resident, Scandura served on the
Environmental Board from 1996 to 2001 and on the Bolsa Chica Wetlands
Restoration Technical Advisory Committee from 1997 to 2001.
He works for the Southern California Branch of the California
State Department of Toxic Substances Control as a branch chief of the
Office of Military Facilities. He holds a master’s in environmental
science and engineering and a bachelor’s in biological sciences.
Volunteers needed to transport Seniors
Surf City’s senior services organization is seeking a driver for
the city’s seniors.
The driver would take seniors to a number of places for
sightseeing, entertainment and family visits to hospital
transportation. Service is door-to-door.
Volunteer drivers for the Council on Aging Senior Team receive 10
hours of training, a city car, a two-way radio/phone for emergencies
and maps to guide them from place to place.
Transportation services are free to seniors. They are jointly
provided by the Huntington Beach Council on Aging, the Orange County
Transportation Authority, the Office on Aging, the Hoag Memorial
Hospital and the Council on Aging Senior Team volunteers.
For more information, contact Diane Swarts, Senior Services
volunteer coordinator, at (714) 374-1544.
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