A message from Isaac Abbs, Director of Technology Services for the Town of Marana, originally posted by Tucson Local Media.
Director of Technology Services, Isaac Abbs
You’re probably more familiar with the Town of Marana Technology Services Department than you think. While not a traditionally public-facing department, Technology Services indirectly impacts almost all communication the Town of Marana has with the public.
A department like this primarily functions to support other departments; enhancing and upgrading our systems so the town can operate as efficiently as possible to serve our residents, businesses and visitors. However, what makes our Technology Services Department unique in the public sector is the implementation of mobile apps that increase accessibility between the public and the Town of Marana.
The Parks and Recreation mobile app is a tool from technology services that residents can use to get the most up-to-date information from our parks and recreation department. If you are a frequent user of our park amenities and programs, this is the best resource to view available amenities and program openings, register for classes and events, and see openings or closures of amenities in cases of bad weather. The mobile app also gives you the ability to reserve a ramada or facility. The Marana Events mobile app offers a similar service, but is geared towards signature town events like Marana Founders’ Day, Star Spangled Spectacular, Marana Fall Festival and Marana Holiday Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting.
Sometimes, direct communication with the town isn’t the best way to solve a problem, like in the case of a lost pet. Technology Services developed the Marana Pets App to allow you to connect with fellow residents, who are much more likely to find Fido than the chances of him wandering over to town hall. This mobile app is the best way to see if your lost pet has been found, or post a lost pet that you found in your neighborhood. However, if Fido comes over to town hall, we promise to post his information on the app as well.
Technology Services has also developed an online application for water quality, so that residents can track the amounts of unregulated compounds in some well sites. Residents can input their home address and see which wells their home uses, and the current levels of these compounds in those wells. Users can also see the changes in readings over time as treatments are put in place.
An application currently in the works will help residents connect with the Marana Police Department. Based on traffic in intersections and school zones, citizens will soon be able to report traffic-related incidents, such as speeding, directly to the police. As officers work through the reports they receive, the citizen who submitted the incident will be notified.
A service that is available to both the town’s internal departments and residents is interactive mapping, called Marana Maps. This public interface details natural features, political boundaries, planning information, and more. Users can customize their display to show only the information they want to see, and if a resident needs a map that doesn’t exist yet, technology services can generate and print requested maps. This interactive mapping is also used on our current and proposed projects page, where residents can view all development projects going on in the Town with proposed start and end dates, as well as descriptions and budgets.
Perhaps the most important service the town receives from the Technology Services Department is security. With the implementation of all this new and innovative technology comes the dangers of phishing and scams. We help ensure the digital protection of not only our Town employees, but of the data we collect from citizens. This is done through extensive employee education on best practices and various security measures applicable for work and home. We always look for opportunities to share these security practices with the public. The Town recently hosted a Consumer Outreach Forum as part of the FCC’s Rural Tour to meet with the community to share information regarding telecommunication issues and the latest telecom scams targeting consumers. To get notifications on similar opportunities in the future, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsroom.
For those of you who have the My Marana mobile app, you can expect to see a new and improved version coming soon. This popular geo-referencing mobile app directly connects our residents to the town to more efficiently communicate and report problems in the community.
