Page 14 - Sept-Oct 2019 Vol37 No3
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BLOUNT COUNTY By Lisa Hood Skinner
“Smart City” Solutions, Hidden
Assets Spark Tech Improvements
“Smart City” solutions are underway in common, secure network to deliver more (some from mini mobile-warehouses on
Blount County to discover untapped po- efficient and automated services in the nearby trucks.) With a couple keystrokes,
tential for its taxpayers…including stream- cities of Maryville, Alcoa and the Blount the worker accesses directions and “smart
lining the citizens’ digital dealings with County Government offices, according to routing” to the site.
their oft-dreaded government entities. Abhijit Verekar, President/CEO of Avero
Advisors, the IT consulting group that’s Once finished with that job, the worker
And they’re using untapped assets in- been working with the governments dur- takes photos of the finished product,
stalled decades ago. ing this time. uploads them to the main office and re-
ceives the next work order. The speed and
By definition, Smart Cities incorporate Less Red Tape Means Improved Quality of efficiency of decreased travel to multiple
information and communication technol- Life sites translates to less time on the road and
ogies to enhance the quality and perfor- increased number of jobs performed dur-
mance of urban services…reducing costs, Less red tape when renewing a local ing the day.
waste and resource consumption. permit? Fewer keystrokes when navigat-
ing pages of website instructions? Think “This process can become a great em-
Planners agree that every Smart City of it this way: the less time you have to ployee satisfaction, retention and recruit-
initiative requires affordable, VERY fast, stand in line at your city or government ment tool because now, your workers are
secure broadband. However, few Ten- offices, or wait “on hold” on the phone, or using high tech, global positioning systems
nesseans know that our state already has wade through an obtuse and complicated (GPS) and modernized processes. Maybe
hundreds of miles of optical fiber installed government website, the MORE free time they’re just out of school in their first job
– most of it unused. you have to live your life, enjoying family and suddenly, they’re using these cool
and friends. platforms,” Verekar said.
Optical Fiber Installed Years Ago
“Avero Advisors helps local governments The fiber optimization also can increase
That’s because decades ago, local power across the U.S. work together more ef- “citizen satisfaction” through ways in which
utilities such as Maryville Electric, and ficiently by coordinating their technology. they report problems in their neighbor-
federal agencies like the Tennessee Val- It’s called building a “Smart Community.” hoods or on the roadways. Some of the
ley Authority (TVA) had the foresight By making these processes within the supported platforms have public citizen
to install optical fiber wherever it placed three government entities less complicat- “self-service” portals or apps connected to
electrical power lines. ed, this in turn empowers our citizens and current wayfinding apps such as Waze. If
enriches their lives,” Verekar said. you see a pothole, you can tag it for ease in a
For the past 18 months, the government service request, and you can track the prog-
entities of City of Maryville, City of Alcoa Verekar said the connectivity provided ress being made to complete that service re-
and Blount County Government have through the previously-installed optical quest…producing a sense of empowerment
been working internally and with an out- fiber makes automated processes possible and transparency in this process (where
side consultant group to strengthen that and opens up a new range of benefits for previously there was little to none).
investment to their maximum advantage… local citizens, including better use of tax-
maintaining and extending its optical fiber payers’ dollars. “Lack of efficient processes Current estimates place monthly poten-
networks and increasing utilization of the is the chief villain in these situations,” he tial savings at tens of thousands of dollars
fiber government “backbone,” or optical said. within the three government entities’ usage
fiber ring. of a network connected to their electric and
“With seamless integration between water utilities. State Rep. Jerome Moon,
The results? They’re now enabling pow- departments, (enabled by the fiber back- District 8, said he supports any initiative
erful government services that previously bone they share), they can use the same “that improves government services while
were too expensive for the three separate Geographic Information System (GIS) at the same time, makes it more affordable
entities to consider. platform to manage data,” he said. This can for our taxpayers. That’s hard to do in rural
assist Public Works and Highway Depart- communities with limited budgets.”
Fiber Connectivity Saving Money ment employees with efficiency in “real-
time” work out in the field. Projects Began With Business Process
The increased speed already has been Inventories
paying off. Statistics show that fiber con- He envisioned governments’ public
nectivity has saved Blount County’s 911 works vehicles outfitted with mobile data Government officials agreed that an
Dispatch Center thousands of taxpayer terminals where employees could “clock inclusive process, a strong discovery
dollars yearly since 2018. Blount County in,” electronically receiving notifications phase…and using an experienced outside
Mayor Ed Mitchell said the process “has of their first job of the day. The notifica- firm…was key in making the conversions
brought IT advancements to Blount tion would outline supplies needed for the work. For example, the City of Maryville
County Government that were thirty years task and the closest way to obtain those Public Works Director and Avero started
overdue.”
This was achieved via optimization of a
14 TPW September/October 2019
