Johnson County has combined two departments and one division melding information technology services into the new Department of Technology and Innovation.

The new department became effective Thursday, February 2, with approval of the merger by unanimous vote of the Board of County Commissioners.

The action involved the Departments of Information Technology Services (ITS) and Automated Information Mapping Systems (AIMS) and the Oracle Support Center (OSC) Division of the County Manager’s Office. The offices of the departments/division are all located in the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe.

County Manager Hannes Zacharias said the consolidation was made to avoid overlapping duties, sharing computer infrastructure, and better serving County Government and the Johnson County community.

“The merger provides numerous benefits including having one enterprise-wide leader for information technology services, providing greater depth of skills with a broader employee base, and improving IT communications and coordination,” he said. “It just made sense to put the three together.”

No employee layoffs resulted in the consolidation, but changes and reorganization in staffing, including not filling some vacant positions, are expected to generate an estimated savings ranging from $173,373 to $400,000.

This consolidation is the County Manager’s next step toward better organization within County Government to foster increased efficiency (with less staff) and identify savings to meet future revenues.

Several changes in the restructuring and streamlining of county operations were proposed in February 2011 in a final report by the Matrix Consulting Group. The report involved an organizational structure assessment and an optimization study to assist the County in evaluating the overall efficiency and effectiveness of county operations. The review listed 34 recommendations for improving organizational structures to capture efficiencies, align similar functions, reduce redundancies or achieve synergies not currently in place.

One of the recommendations was to merge ITS, AIMS, and OSC into a single information technology services department. Anticipated results would include cost savings and efficiencies through standardization, cross-utilization of staff, and potential staff reductions, mainly through attrition.

The changes in County Government were allowed as a result of voter approval of the county’s Home Rule Charter in 2000. The charter paved the way for some county departments, which were once managed by elected officials, to be managed by department heads appointed by the County Manager. The charter also provided that the County Manager may recommend and initiate changes in the administrative organization of County Government to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration and final approval.

Since adoption of the charter, the County Manager has initiated several operational changes and consolidation of departments, including:

• In 2005, the Register of Deeds and County Clerk offices were merged into the Department of Records and Tax Administration.
• In 2010, the operations and staffs of the Office of the Treasurer and the Department of Financial Management were consolidated into the Department of Treasury and Financial Management.
• In 2011, emergency management and emergency communications were consolidated into the Department of Emergency Management and Communications. The merger involved the former Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the former Department of Emergency Communications.

Johnson County Government now has 35 departments, a reduction of two departments since the Matrix Report and five fewer departments since approval of the Home Rule Charter.

 More information is available by contacting County Manager Hannes Zacharias at (913) 715-0731 or hannes.zacharias@jocogov.org.