City and County of Honolulu News Releases

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HONOLULU AWARDED FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES  (Fri., Nov. 4, 2011)—Mayor Peter Carlisle today announced that the City and County of Honolulu is a first-place winner in the 10th anniversary Digital Cities Survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government and its Digital Communities Program. The annual survey spotlights municipalities that best show how information and communication technology are used to enhance public service. Honolulu was ranked first among cities with populations of 250,000 or more. "This prestigious award recognizes the hard work and collaboration of many city employees and our partners," Carlisle said. "We are honored to receive such recognition and I am proud of their accomplishments." The Center judges cities on the criteria of enterprise applicability or impact across multiple program areas, measurable progress from the prior year, hard dollar savings or soft dollar benefits as a result of technology use, innovation and a demonstration of effective collaboration. "As citizens continue to expect more and budgets continue to shrink, technology-based tools are needed to streamline operations, reduce costs and encourage citizen participation," said Honolulu Department of Information Technology Director Gordon Bruce. "We are humbled with such recognition and are driven to do even more." Honolulu was recognized for its innovation on such projects as free municipal wifi and collapsing 14 different telephone systems to a single voice over internet protocol system, improving transparency, and numerous cost saving initiatives. "Cities that are investing in technology are capturing cost savings that are critical to continuity of operations and their ability to meet higher demand for services," said Todd Sander, director of Digital Communities, in a statement announcing the winners. "The highest-ranking cities in the survey showed great strides in consolidating, enabling shared services, government transparency and communications interoperability. We applaud these innovators as they work in the spirit of collaboration to provide extraordinary value to constituents despite budget setbacks." -30- Contact: Department of Information Technology Director Gordon Bruce, 768-7601 or gbruce@honolulu.gov