Nor can unfair advantage be given to those who can afford electronic access. For example, reservations for a popular Parks facility could be booked by computer owners who could be provided easier and quicker access, leaving the citizen who has to travel downtown or send in a check left in the lurch. Those citizens who prefer to use more traditional methods of doing business with the City must be served in ways which meet their needs. Finally, new network technologies make it far easier to access information, which can threaten the privacy of Citizens. Privacy rights of citizens must be protected in all new applications.
Electronic access offers advantages for internal business systems .
In the future it will be possible, for example, for an employee to electronically change health benefits, reserve a conference room, make routine purchase requests, input work hours or search for relevant information. Due to a new class of applications development and operational tools, web-based applications are often easier to develop and maintain, offering considerable cost advantages over the previous generation of applications. Ultimately, the favored method of conducting business with government will be the Internet, once concerns about security are answered. Letting the citizen or business choose traditional or automated means of transacting business with the City results in greater convenience and efficiency for all parties. Electronic commerce includes linking telephone access to computer systems via Interactive Voice Response systems.