During the course of a weekend, the City of Macon’s IT Department upgraded the City’s core network communications and servers to improve efficiency, protect stored data, and reduce operational costs to run the system. According to IT Director Stephen Masteller, “the new network redesign, coupled with virtualization, replication, and redundancy are the keys to our new electronic services foundation.”

The new network redesign included the replacement of the obsolete network core switch/router and firewall, resulting in faster data travel, cleaner and more precise data pathways, and enhanced system security.

At a press conference on January 12, 2012, City of Macon Mayor Robert Reichert and Bibb County Commission Chairman discussed the ongoing efforts to implement the Service Delivery Strategy. Currently, department heads and other administrators are meeting regularly to discuss the smooth and effective transfer of four departments from the City to the County: Animal Control, Engineering, Inspections and Fees, Traffic Engineering, and the recreation portion of Parks and Recreation. This transfer will occur on July 1, 2012, and the Mayor, County Commission Chairman, and other officials wanted to update employees, the public, and the media on that process.

“This is about taking care of our people that have given so much to serve the citizens of Macon & Bibb County,” says Mayor Reichert. “It is up to us to determine how we can best mesh the departments so the employees are taken care of and our citizens continue to receive services without interruption.”