WINNIPEG, MB – Restructuring the existing Corporate Support Services department to create an individual department of Innovation, Transformation, and Technology will help prioritize and support the City of Winnipeg’s efforts to build and operate smarter and more efficiently Mayor Brian Bowman said today.
“These changes and investments help build on the innovation momentum we’ve been building over last several years,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “They will help underscore the importance of using technology and innovation to improve business processes, find ways to be more efficient, and to become a smarter city.”
Historically, operational funding for innovation and technology, customer service and communications, and human resource services was primarily provided through a single departmental envelope. The preliminary 2019 budget reflects the restructuring of the existing department of Corporate Support Services by restating the 2018 budget allocation for Corporate Support Services to better reflect the service areas funded by the department. This proposed change also provides for a much more open and transparent accounting of each service area’s budget.
Funding for the new Innovation, Transformation, and Technology department primarily comes from approximately $20 million previously used to fund the city’s innovation needs through the department of Corporate Support Services. In addition to restating this funding in 2019, the 2019 preliminary operating budget proposes to increase the operating budget for Innovation, Transformation, and Technology by approximately $4.6 million to $25.1 million.
In addition to restating the 2018 budget to reflect the new Innovation, Transformation, and Technology department, the 2019 preliminary operating budget also reflects separate budget lines for the departments of Human Resources and Customer Service and Communications. Previously, the budget for Human Resources was reported under Corporate Support Services, and budget for Customer Service & Communications was reported under Corporate Support Services and the Chief Administrative Office
The preliminary 2019 capital budget proposes to invest over $11 million in 2019 to support a program of innovation and transformation projects as well as $45 million over the next five years.
Some of the initiatives include:
- $11 million over six years to support the Smart Cities Innovation Program that will look at ways to build on the leading edge Transportation Management Centre’s video management system as well as ways to provide motorists and emergency responders with active train information;
- $1.9 million over six years to upgrade information security systems to protect against rapidly increasing number of threats to city business systems;
- $3.4 million over six years to migrate civic departments to the new P25 radio network; and
- $1.5 million over six years for an enterprise content management system to improve documentation for the decision making process to address, for example, shortfalls identified by the independent fairness commissioner in capturing decisions made to support the Real Estate Transaction Management Framework.