People don't know what counties do. It's the county that handles marriage licenses and pet licenses, but most important for people is that the procedure gets handled, regardless of the responsible jurisdiction. If it can be done electronically, Fullinwider said, that would eliminate the need for people to drive to a county building, pay for parking, stand in line, complete the process and possibly run into traffic on the way home. This is where government begins to change. This is where technology helps make that change.
County administrators can purchase general office supplies and equipment from a variety of vendors.
Speaking at the forum in Los Angeles, Varnes said that cutting costs and time spent on procurement is critical. At that point, we went into a workflow system to at least automate in central purchasing and to eliminate those 25 copies, which was a major improvement. From the time that somebody browses and does their initial shopping, they will be able to get the necessary approvals, including sending items that our CIO might be interested in looking at before consummating the order. It's a move that Fullinwider said must be made. Simply, the CIO said, electronic commerce allows the county to better provide public services, and conducting business electronically is a key indicator of the paradigm shift.