The city of Kissimmee Information Technology Department recently received the Florida Local Government Information System Association’s (FLGISA) Technology Achievement Award.

The city’s IT staff attended the Aug. 7 City Commission meeting and was presented with the award for Best IT Collaboration Among Organizations for its shared use of a Geographic Information System (GIS), which is used for damage assessment in the aftermath of a disaster.

“The purpose of this award is to recognize both leadership (technical and/or organizational) and innovation in a community within the FLGISA membership,” said IT Department Director Peggy Sousa.

“The city is honored to be recognized for its talented staff and superior technology, especially since the FLGISA only presents this award every two years.”

The department centralized and shared critical physical assessment communications amongst the government agencies within Osceola County.

The project improved disaster response and recovery, which is critical to government emergency operations so that the required effort and resources can be effectively prioritized and deployed, and all available municipal resources can be shared and applied to save lives and restore safety efficiently and effectively.

The economic benefits of this project include the elimination of manual digitizing procedures, fewer inaccuracies, streamlined communication of damage assessment and recovery status, automated and accurate FEMA reimbursement forms.

The project also has the potential to save lives because of the improved efficiency.

The end users are the Damage Assessment team members and call takers, comprised of employees in each of the three governmental agencies.

These teams are composed of employees from the Fire Department, Building Division, Property Appraisers, Auditors, Public Works and Engineering Department, Code Enforcement Divisions and Tax Compliance Office.