Information Technology Department Receives State Award

by Cheryel Carpenter
August 08, 2003

The City of Arlington Information Technology Department has received a state award from the Texas Association of Governmental Information Technology Managers. The award recognizes innovation in technology for the Portal in a Box project, which was launched in January 2003 on the City’s internal computer network.

Chief Information Officer Tim Barbee says the project has allowed the city to capitalize on technology and improve access to information. A portal is a computerized entrance or single point of access to information from many sources. City departments have been able to set up their own information portals with virtually little or no advance training or software costs, Barbee said.

Since the Portal in a Box project was launched in January 2003, six departments have set up portals, including the Human Resources Department, which made training information and important documents and forms easier to access. The project manager of the Portal in a Box project is Webmaster Tom Lucas.

Information Technology is responsible for the City’s local area network, provides technical support to municipal departments and is responsible for telephone services, geographic information systems, client server, mainframe systems and the design and installation of the fiber optic network.