Government IT budgets face cuts
Government information technology (IT) departments are tightening their belts in response to the nation’s economic slowdown, according to a national survey by the Washington-based Public Technology Institute (PTI). The survey found that 38 percent of local government IT budgets are likely to decrease over the next two years as a result of the downturn.
More than half of the local government chief information officers (CIO) and IT department directors who responded to PTI’s “The State of City and County IT 2008” survey said budgets for staff development and training would remain the same, but that budgets would decrease for staff travel to educational events. Most respondents also said public safety interoperability and e-government services, such as deploying more tools for interacting with the public, were their top priorities. “Clearly, IT services are impacted by the reduction in government revenues,” PTI Executive Director Alan Shark said in a statement. “IT executives will be challenged now more than ever before to provide strong leadership as IT departments struggle to meet increased expectations while facing declining resources.”
Go to www.pti.org/index.php/ptiee1/more/420/ to read the entire survey and register for a Nov. 13 webinar that will feature an analysis of the report. Read about the economic troubles’ effect on county budgets here
and on city budgets here.
