Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced a series of technology improvements yesterday that make county services more accessible to the public and streamline county operations.  The improvements were made as a result of a report from the county’s  Office of Information Technology.  As reported in the Towson Patch:

One change would make it easier for senior citizens in the county to make use of the CountyRide program, said Joanne Williams, director of the county’s Department of Aging. Users will be able to request rides and update their account information online or use a touch-tone and voice-automated phone system.

Mike Mohler, head of county code enforcement, said computerized routing for inspectors should save on mileage costs. Inspectors now drive more than 200,000 miles annually on about 50,000 calls. The new routing system, similar to one used by commercial package delivery companies, will cut as much as 50,000 miles annually by planning more efficient routes, Mohler said.

Kamenetz said the county will also make some mandatory training available to county employees through online classes and use the Internet to handle scheduling of classes and instructors. The county police department will be the first to test the program.

Typically, officers are paid for in-service training days or the department has to schedule additional officers to cover shifts for those sent to training. The county expects to save nearly $500,000 by eliminating one training day for police officers and replacing it with an online training program available 24 hours a day.

Click here for the Report from the Office of Information Technology