Palm Coast IT Director: ‘We Have Been Able to Implement a Lot of Unique and Innovative Systems’

As part of Industry Insider — Florida’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state and local government agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with public-sector IT leaders.

Doug Akins is the director of information technology for the city of Palm Coast. He has 18 years of public-sector IT experience with the city, previously serving as an IT applications analyst lead and a senior applications analyst.

One of the things Akins says has fulfilled him the most during his tenure is seeing members of the city’s IT staff grow, whether that’s by transitioning from entry-level positions, such as interns to more managerial and leadership roles within the team, or starting their careers with the city and then moving on to more senior positions in other larger private and public-sector organizations.

Otherwise, he’s mainly focused on setting the strategic direction for the city’s use of technology, overseeing Palm Coast’s wireless master plan and monitoring daily operations with his team.

Industry Insider — Florida: As IT director of your organization, how do you describe your role? How have the role and responsibilities of your position changed in recent years?

Akins: As the IT director, I’m responsible for setting the strategic direction for how the city will make use of technology. In addition to daily operations, our department is tasked with cultivating a data-driven culture and identifying technologies that will improve citizen engagement and bring efficiencies. One aspect of my job that is different from people in similar roles is that our department is responsible for overseeing and managing the city’s Wireless Master Plan. The Wireless Master Plan is an initiative by the city to try to increase cellular coverage throughout the city by making identified city lands available for cell towers.

Cybersecurity has become more of a prominent focus since I stepped into this role, obviously. Aside from that, I don’t think the role has changed, but technology has. AI has grabbed everyone’s attention recently, and it’s the new shiny tool everyone is looking to find a use for. AI is powerful and will continue to transform the way we interact with technology, but I think it’s important that we start with the use case and the need and, from there, find the tools that best fit the need.

IIFL: In your tenure in this position, which project or achievement are you most proud of?

Akins: We have been able to implement a lot of unique and innovative systems as it relates to how we interact with our citizens and how we give our customer service staff tools to manage the needs and concerns of residents. There’s a lot in that area I could highlight, but the thing that gives me the most satisfaction is playing a small part in the growth of my staff. There are a few people who got their first real programming job at the city and have gone on to great careers at large private and public organizations. Several of the IT staff started out as interns in our department and have gone on to become critical members of our team. I’ve watched several people step into management and leadership roles for the first time and really excel. Yes, we get to do a lot of cool and innovative things, but I get to watch a lot of talented and dedicated people develop while we do it and that brings me the most fulfillment.

IIFL: What projects will you be looking to fund in the upcoming fiscal year?

Akins: A lot of updates have been happening over the past several years as we have been modernizing software and updating business processes. A couple of years ago, we took our ERP from on-prem to the cloud and brought it to the latest version. Since then, we have been bringing on new features related to human resources and recruitment, time and attendance software, as well as work orders and asset management. We have an RFP out now for the construction of a small data center at our city hall that will begin sometime near the end of this fiscal year. We will also be looking to stand up two ArcGIS Hub sites for internal and external customers, as well as seeking assistance creating a five-year plan and strategy for GIS.

IIFL: What big initiatives or projects are coming up? What development opportunities and RFPs should we watch for in the next six to 12 months?

Akins: We have an RFP being advertised very soon for merchant services as we need to update our payment provider for several services, including utility billing. Also, in the next several weeks, we will be releasing an RFP for fiber outside plant construction as well as maintenance and repair services for ongoing work and maintenance on the city’s fiber network.

IIFL: How do you define “digital transformation”? How far along is your organization in that process, and how will you know when it’s finished?

Akins: I define "digital transformation" as the process of changing business processes and human interaction by infusing technology solutions to improve processes. I think that digital transformation is a perpetually ongoing process, and because of that, it is difficult to say how far along you are in the process. We have made a concerted effort over the past few years that continues today to improve our communication with residents and the services we provide with technology.

IIFL: What is your estimated IT budget, and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?

Akins: For the 2024 fiscal year, the city of Palm Coast has a budget of $357,748,234, with IT’s budget making up $7,202,776. The city is the second-largest public employer, with 623 employees, 24 of which belong to IT. The city administration has always supported technology and sees IT as a strategic partner for fostering innovation and efficiencies.

IIFL: What modernization projects is Palm Coast currently working on? Are there any projects in the works that you are excited about?

Akins: We are currently putting effort into providing tools that will aid in providing excellent customer service to our residents. Our customer service call center is on AWS Connect, and we’ve started making use of AI technology that will monitor the calls and give the customer service reps suggestions as to how to answer their questions. This has reduced the time it takes to train new staff who don’t have to memorize the facts or learn where to go to find them while they’re on a call. It’s also helping us with automatically categorizing the calls that come in so we can report on what the most frequent topics are. We are also using AWS to index our city website and will soon be using AWS to replace our existing website search with a more helpful generative AI response.

Our city council has also made it a priority to develop a mobile app. I believe that’s something that needs to be developed in-house to really bring the best experience and value to our residents and something we plan to start in the coming fiscal year, hopefully going live near the end of 2025.

When I was in the role of a programmer, before I became director, one of my goals was to get us to an open data platform where we could offer data sets to the public, but also create an API where the city could be interacted with programmatically in a variety of ways. It’s not on our near-term project list, but something I’d like to see us get to in the future.

IIFL: What do you read to stay abreast of government technology/SLED sector developments?

Akins: I have a stack of Government Technology* magazines on my desk that I try to go through when I can. I also subscribe to several RSS feeds (do people still use those?) from online technology and government sites. Living 15 minutes away from the office has its perks, but having enough time to listen to all the podcasts I’m subscribed to isn’t one of them. The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester is great as well as The Public Sector Show by TechTables. I also get together regularly with local government leaders from my region and it’s a great way to hear about issues they are facing or new technologies they are having success with.

IIFL: What do you think is the greatest technology challenge for Palm Coast?

Akins: Cybersecurity is a given — no matter how much you do, there’s always more that can be done. Aside from that our biggest challenge is simply resources, and not just in IT. Not only do we have more projects than we have IT staff for, but many of our projects also require staff and time from other departments, and if they don’t have the bandwidth to take it on, it creates a risk for those projects.

IIFL: What advice would you give someone who would like to lead an IT department?

Akins: I think every person who goes into leadership of any kind should be the kind of person who is always looking to grow and better themselves. But I think the desire to grow others should go even beyond the desire to develop ourselves. Be intentional and find ways to invest in the people you lead. Give them opportunities to learn and challenge them to do more than they think is possible.

Also, work to build relationships with people in other organizations near you. There may be people right down the street from you that have experiences you can learn from, and sometimes those bridges you build become pathways of help when you need it. As I mentioned before, I get together regularly with other government technology leaders in my area and have tried to be intentional about it. Recently, one of the guys in the group had a need for some resources in a pinch, and an organization in the group was able to step in and help. That may not have happened if we hadn’t been intentional about creating those relationships with each other.

IIFL: If you could change one thing about IT procurement, what would it be?

Akins: One of the most impactful government technology books (that’s a niche market) I’ve read recently is Jennifer Pahlka’s Recoding America. It touches on a lot of different themes, and I highly recommend it for anyone who has to implement technology for the public sector, especially if it’s public-facing. She makes several recommendations on how IT procurement can be better, but the one I would highlight is being more agile in our contracting approach. Most technology projects don’t go as planned, and the ability to get regular feedback throughout the project and then to be flexible and pivot if needed could save both work and money.

IIFL: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors, including via social media such as LinkedIn?

Akins: Well, I’m probably on a vendor blacklist somewhere. I don’t return cold calls or emails, and typically don’t accept LinkedIn requests from vendors I don’t know. I’ve even had a flip-flop mailed to me by a vendor trying to get their “foot in the door.” I’ll admit that was creative. Vendors usually catch my attention by showcasing their product or service well at a conference, being recommended by a colleague, or having their work featured in a write-up or article I read.

IIFL: How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?

Akins: The best thing they can do is to try to understand where we are at with the specific good or service they are trying to offer before engaging with the city. I had set up a demo with a vendor at the request of our city manager some time ago. When I got to the meeting, the vendor had already gone through our website and then asked some questions related to the service he was selling. He took the time to understand what we were already doing in that area before the meeting and then said that we didn’t need their services based on what we had in place. I very much respected the fact that he did his homework first, and that he gave me his honest assessment and didn’t try to hard sell his product.

IIFL: Which of your certifications would you like to note?

Akins: Definitely my CGCIO (Certified Government Chief Information Officer) certification. I took a nontraditional path into my role, going from being a manager for the first time (of two people) to leading the entire department in a year. The quick progression left me with some struggles with confidence and feeling like I didn’t have the tools I needed for the role I was in. I applied for the CGCIO certification for the purpose of better equipping myself for the job and it did not disappoint. Not to mention that Chris Bald is one of the instructors and is an absolute rock star!

IIFL: What professional or affinity groups do you belong to? Do you volunteer, and would you like to share that experience with readers?

Akins: My most active membership is with FLGISA (Florida Local Government Information Systems Association). I am also a member of MS-ISAC and InfraGard. Outside of technology, my wife and I have done some work with fostering and volunteering at our church.

IIFL: What conferences do you attend?

Akins: Before I stepped into the director role, I used to love going to the VSLive conferences in Orlando to learn about all the latest developer offerings from Microsoft. I try to keep tabs on what’s going on in the programming world, but now the FLGISA Conferences are the main ones I frequent. Aside from that, I try to drop into smaller conferences and seminars to stay current on relevant topics.

IIFL: What are you reading or listening to for fun? What do you do to unplug in your downtime?

Akins: I like to read, so unless I’m reading a book I didn’t choose (for school) or reading a lease or contract for work, most of my reading is “fun.” Other than books on technology, personal development and leadership, I enjoy reading about history. American history, especially the Civil War era and World War II, is intriguing to me. Right now, I’m reading The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson and In the Pines by Grace Elizabeth Hale, and I enjoy the American History Tellers podcast.

We have a big family that likes to stay active so there’s not a whole lot of “downtime,” so if I’m not working or reading, I’m probably chasing a kid around wherever I’m at.

*Note: Government Technology and Industry Insider — Florida are both part of e.Republic.