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Economic Development Office continued from previous page ment in June included a seasonal Coordinator, Masha Traber, to manage the Liberty Ride tour which had its pilot year launch (in FY03) from July through October. HIGHLIGHTS: • Conducted outreach to and communication with Lexington businesses through an ongoing business visitation program; also, regular interface with local /regional real estate agencies and the land development community. • Assisted businesses interested in expanding their facilities in Lexington, companies interested in relocating to Lexington, and those interested in starting a business in Lexington. • Served as a contact point for numerous businesses on matters dealing with permit requirements, land development matters, and doing business in Town. • Visited multiple businesses in response to specific inquiries and offered technical assistance. • Addressed tourism issues as staff to the Tourism Committee; participated in the pilot year launch of the seasonal Liberty Ride tour. • Served as staff to the Lexington Center Committee, focusing on revitalization issues and event programs. • Worked with the Planning Board in development of a Transportation Element to the Comprehensive Plan. • Continued facilitation of the monthly Lexington Business Roundtable, which was renamed the Lexington Business Partnership. • Established initial dialogue with prospective purchasers of the Raytheon property; together with the Planning Department commenced an in -house study of the site's reuse potential. • Served as a staff participant on the Media Access Task Force, which is focused on increasing community cable access and local programming for Lexington. • Served as a staff participant on the DPW Facility Re- Evaluation Advisory Committee, which prepared a Request for Information (RFI) to gain input from the development community regarding 201 Bedford St. • Served as a staff participant on the Electric Utility Ad Hoc Committee, which is investigating the feasibility and financial implications of municipal electric delivery. • Continued a series of workshops for small businesses, includ- ing Understanding the Numbers (1/02), Doing Business on the Internet (3/02), and Writing a Winning Business Plan (10/02). • Updated and enhanced the overall database of Lexington busi- nesses. • Responded to multiple requests for Census and demographic information about Lexington. • Made presentations to various organizations on Economic Development initiatives in Lexington. Management Information Systems (MIS) ROLE: To provide high quality, cost - effective infor- mation tech- nology ser- vices to town departments so that they can provide services to the citizens of the Town. The MIS Department, along with the Public Schools MIS Department, co- manages the Town's Wide Area Network. MIS is solely responsible for the maintenance and security of Town Departments' Local Area Networks. Other respon- sibilities include technology policy development, organiza- tional training, end -user support, data management and web site maintenance. Expenditures Payroll Expenses FY02 FY01 $ 146,141 $ 211,529 $ 143,008 $ 194,617 Personnel Full Time 3 3 APPOINTED by the Town Manager: MIS Director Connie Rawson. HIGHLIGHTS: • The fiber optic data network, which replaces the old Cablevision INET, is now fully operational. All school and town buildings are now connected via single mode fiber contractually provided by RCN. • Munis Software Conversion has been completed through a joint effort of School and Town MIS and Finance Departments. • Facilities Maintenance Management Software has been installed. The project is a collaboration of MIS and Operations for both Schools and Town. A Preventive Maintenance module, Work -Order System and an Asset Management System will provide valuable information for better management of town -owned infrastructure. • A Technology Advisory Committee, consisting of over 50 town volunteers, has been established. This Committee acts as a community- consulting clearinghouse for the MIS Department. • An Employee Intranet has been developed to increase employees' access to information in order to provide bet- ter customer service. • The Town Web Site has expanded to include a public meeting calendar, downloadable forms, and access to the Town Code. 2002 Annual Report, Town of Lexington Page 11