departments annually contribute to the PAYG reserve based on the number of personal computers (PC’s) being used in each department. When the Information Technology (I.T.) Department makes PAYG procurements for the Corporation, the purchases are undertaken in compliance with the City’s Purchasing Bylaw and the Pay As You Go plan.
During the 2005 budget process City Council also approved the recovery of the salary and benefits for the Manager of End User Support (I.T. Department) from the PAYG fund due to that position’s direct relationship with the on-going maintenance and lifecycle management of the Corporation’s computer equipment. The salary and benefits for the Technical Support Analyst (TSA) responsible for the Corporation’s servers were transferred to this fund during the 2008 budget process. The salary and benefits for the TSA responsible for the Corporation’s networking were transferred to this fund during the 2010 budget process. The TSA costs were offset by improved server and networking efficiency. An extension of the useful life of corporate hardware further allowed for a partial PC Analyst salary to be recovered from the PAYG fund as approved in the 2012 budget process.
Discussion:
In order to facilitate tracking throughout the year, a PAYG operating account was created so that PAYG eligible expenses could be charged and accounted for in the operating fund. The eligible expenses include the following:
Replacement PC’s (desktop PC’s, laptop PC’s, CAD workstations, monitors)
Parts and maintenance for out-of-warranty PC’s
Networking and Server lifecycle management (maintaining, replacing infrastructure using evolving technology to improve efficiency and total cost of ownership)
Salary and benefits for the Manager of End User Support
Salary and benefits for two Technical Support Analysts
Annually, at year-end, this PAYG operating account is funded from the PAYG reserve in compliance with the original plan.
The City of Windsor has 2,042 PC’s. The replacement protocol, approved during the 2012 budget, is for the Corporation’s laptop computers to remain in production for an average of 3.9 years, PC’s to remain in production for an average of 4.25 years and monitors to remain in production for an average of 5.5 years. In 2019, the City purchased 466 replacement desktop PC’s, 138 replacement laptops and 161 replacement monitors. The 604 PC’s (466 desktops + 138 laptops) represents approximately 30% of the City’s PC inventory. On average over the past 10 years, 20% of the city’s PC inventory has been replaced annually. These low replacement rates are a good indication that the switch from leasing to PAYG has been successful in extending the life of equipment.
The Corporation provides data networking to over 70 City facilities. The City’s servers and storage environment provide applications and services to approximately 2,600