It has been a chance for the regional district to learn from the mistakes Squamish has made in upgrading its aging technology.
At its Oct. 23 meeting, the Squamish Lillooet Regional District board discussed recommendations for updating some of its technology. A consultant in 2016 recommended the SLRD hire a part-time IT support analyst three days a week.
Chief Administration Officer Lynda Flynn, said staff surveyed other municipalities and IT specialists, and expect to report their findings to the board next month. She said they're hopeful the budget will cover the costs, but they're still waiting on pricing. Flynn said they want to use the recruitment and retention fund to hire a consultant to help with the implementation of a new system — something local municipalities have struggled with.
When Flynn told the board they removed the timeline for the upgrades after seeing the District of Squamish's struggles with delayed timelines of its new IT program, Squamish mayor and board member Karen Elliott laughed.
Flynn said the current SLRD financial software is old and had not been maintained previously because of the cost. The new software would help with efficiency. Flynn noted the land management database is paper-based and not digital.
Elliott said the DOS experience has shown the technology will take care of itself, and moving from paper-based to digital records has been more complicated than anticipated.
"There are the technical folks, but there needs to be someone who is preparing the organization for the change," Elliott said.
Director Ryan Zant asked if the SLRD could share the IT person and their salary costs with local municipalities, but Flynn said Squamish and Whistler's systems are maxed out, while Pemberton didn't want to hire anyone for such a position, preferring to outsource the work. Collaborating may be a potential in the future, however, Flynn noted.
Next, the SLRD staff will bring forward suggestions for software.
