Verona Technology Workshop Informs

At a special technology workshop meeting held this past Tuesday in Verona Council Chambers, the attendees and governing body were provided with a presentation on the township’s technological capabilities, present and future. Jeff Hayes, director of administration & technology made the presentation along with Mike McCormac, the technology manager.

Hayes, who has been with the township for almost ten years, previously ran the communications systems and computer networks for more than 35 government agencies in New York State, including the NY Lottery. McCormac, as township manager, Joseph Martin put it, “Has more licenses and certifications to fill two business cards.”

Martin began the evening by commenting, “Technology is the force multiplier for Verona. It is among the best investments the town has made. Technology is also the best tool to reduce labor intensity in a municipal government.” Martin was referring to not only the cost savings from being able to do so much of this specialized work in-house, but also to the fact that many municipalities are now turning to Verona for guidance and consultation, generating additional revenue for the township from shared services.

Hayes summarized his presentation in one word: standardization. The fiber optic network in place connects all the township’s buildings and departments including schools, police, fire, rescue, water treatment, buildings and grounds, and public works. They all use common servers, computers, software, printers, cellular modems, radios, cell phones, and land line telephone systems.

According to Hayes, “We are all connected. If something crashes, we can access that unit remotely to diagnose the situation and most times repair a computer or radio in-house. Because of the standardization, we have spare units or parts on hand to minimize downtime. This eliminates calling in specialists who take the computer away for days or weeks and charge a hefty fee to do it. We can remotely monitor water levels in our tanks or provide digital map access to DPW who might need to locate underground valves or systems. We are even in touch with the school crossing guards.”

In addition, the police have mobile cameras and computers in their vehicles. Officers can check a license plate themselves or fill out a police report without having to come in to the station. This allows them to remain in the field longer without interruption.

The biggest communication plan for the future is to position Verona as the new 911 Emergency hub for West Essex. Verizon is stepping back from the responsibility and Verona is in place to host the system. An application for a federal grant for $1.5 million has been submitted to help offset the costs to purchase and install equipment and software, plus provide five years of service.

Hayes remarked, “What started out as our township’s solution to the 911 problem, now also has the potential to become a revenue generator as other townships consider buying in to join our hub and require our service.”

The municipalities considering joining the 911 hub include Roseland, Essex Fells, North Caldwell, Caldwell, West Caldwell and Cedar Grove. There are others showing interest as well.

VTV, Verona Television, Channel 35 on Comcast, is also in line for an upgrade. With technology playing such an important role in communications, plans are in the works install a new piece of equipment to improve picture clarity, and create better graphics. This would also permit an emergency notice to crawl along the bottom should there be a power outage in a certain neighborhood or road closure. Future plans may include more local programming as well. Funding for this upgrade was provided by a grant from Comcast.

The next workshop meeting, focusing on the new recreational fields, will be held on November 1 in the Council Chambers.