Committee weighs deleting $3,000 interagency technology NDA while urging continued coordination

The committee considered the future of a longstanding, small non-departmental account that funded the Interagency Technology Policy Coordinating Committee (ITVCC), a body established in 1987 and reestablished in 1994 to coordinate technology deployment and identify savings across county agencies, Montgomery College, MCPS and other partners.

Dr. Torregas told the committee the ITVCC’s purpose—bringing agency CIOs together—remains important given cloud migration and emerging technologies. He recommended deleting the $3,000 NDA in the county executive’s budget because the county executive had shifted operational responsibility to the CAO’s office and because little activity has occurred under the current executive. "My recommendation is to delete the expenditure from the 2017 budget," he said, noting the council resolution remains a tool to re-establish the work.

Council members debated trade-offs: Councilmember Evans asked whether deleting the small line might cause a future county executive not to prioritize the work; others noted the NDA’s size is $3,000 and that the council resolution still exists. One council member argued the line item had mostly served as a reminder to future administrations. The committee decided to track the reduction on reconciliation while acknowledging the resolution and the broader policy tool remain available.

Members said the potential for joint CIO forums to coordinate deployments (including cloud and AI) and pursue cost savings remains compelling and encouraged staff to remain vigilant about opportunities for cross-agency savings even if the small NDA were removed.