Carroll County Times Articles
Meet Carroll County's IT Guy
by Tracy Rouchard – January 28, 2007
A little over a month ago, Mark Ripper became the Carroll County's Acting Administrator for the Office of Information and Technology Services. In laymen's terms, he's the county's new IT guy. Mark is a Westminster resident, having grown up in Owings Mills and then moving to Carroll County with his parents in 1985. He is a graduate of Loyola College of Baltimore who went on to receive his MBA from Mount St. Mary's College in Emmittsburg. He has been employed with the Carroll County Government for over 18 years and brings experience and strategic thinking to his department.
The day we met for this interview was Raven's Friday, and Mark was decked out in purple business attire – so we know he's a team player. I wanted to get a better understanding of what offices in the county he touches and how he fits into the overall county government. He told me that he reports to Steve Powell, the County's Chief of Staff, who reports directly to the county commissioners. The IT department headed by Mr. Ripper supports and services not only the main county government building and offices, but also the Sheriff's Department, the Circuit Court, the Humane Society, and the Carroll County State's Attorney's Office.
Prior to this recent promotion, Mark was the county's Telecommunications Manager for more than 7 years. When asked about the biggest success he has had while working with the IT and Telecommunications departments, he told me about “Granicus.” This is the county's internal title for the public's on-line accessibility to the local government meetings. Working with Vivian Laxton, the Carroll County Public Information Officer, Mark was responsible for the logistics in bringing this 2006 initiative to fruition.
Granicus allows Carroll Countains to go to the government website ( www.ccgovernment.carr.org ), click “Meetings & Agendas” under County News, and then become a “virtual' spectator of any given county government meeting. Utilizing this software and process, anyone can view meetings “live” as they are happening, or they can view archived editions. “People really like the ability to hear what is going on,” said Mr. Ripper. “We have received great positive feedback; I am very proud of this project.”
When asked about what projects he has for 2007, Mark explained his involvement with the Carroll County Public Network. This cooperative is made up of the Carroll County Government, the Carroll County School Board, Carroll Community College and the Carroll County Public Library. Headed by Gary Davis, Chief Information Officer for the school board, these four public entities formed the Carroll County Public Network to pool their resources in an effort of finding avenues to reduce spending through volume discounts and strategic initiatives. Mark's largest undertaking for the year will be working on this cooperative's “Countywide Fiber Network Project.” Carroll County has allocated $7.4 million in funding for this project.
Once completed, the county government and the other members of the cooperative will all be connected with their own fiber network. This will reduce their dependency on, and spending with, both Verizon and Adelphia (now Comcast). After the first 8 years, the county will see an annual savings of approximately $900,000. The communications lines will be extended to the municipality government offices, as well as to the county schools. The local police departments will have access to the same database as that used by the county, and the local fire stations will be able to share information with other stations as well as with law enforcement. “The county's investing in technology now will save the tax payers millions in the not-so-far away future; I am glad to represent the county in this process.”
Mr. Ripper seems to be very knowledgeable about the county's IT needs, and I look forward to hearing about what he has in store for us as he settles into this new and well deserved position.
About the Author
Tracy Rouchard is the owner of Cartridge World in Westminster, and a member of the Carroll Technology Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating businesses, government and residents about technology issues. Questions are welcomed and may be addressed in future articles. Email advisors@carrolltechcouncil.org or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org for a list of Advisor categories.
The viewpoints expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Carroll Technology Council.
