Twp. will track progress with Projects Forum
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - A tracking mechanism for township projects has been the first task for the new assistant to the mayor.

Kenneth McCormick, along with Margaret Long and Keith Progebin, is working on a way to centralize, track and summarize projects put forth by department directors. Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack said that since North Brunswick's form of government requires that the mayor and council be somewhat responsible for the day-to-day operations in town, the Projects Forum will be a way of bringing points of interest to the attention of administrators.

"The point is, number one, to prioritize our projects; number two, to focus on the things we commonly agree need to be accomplished; and number three, to make sure they are actually being taken care of, and expeditiously," Womack said.

The first section will be for current projects, listing items such as the reconditioning of Hidden Lake or the continuation of naming streets after veterans. Each entry is time- and date-stamped and can have documents, photographs and spreadsheets attached.

An authorized employee will log in using a password and create a new project post, following a template for objectives, costs, funding, resources, managers, a start and completion date, and expected outcomes, McCormick said during a presentation Feb. 11.

"Any project that is near and dear to the heart of a councilman belongs on that project board," Womack said.

But because of the limitations of the program, the system will not remind users of their projects, produce charts and graphs, specify important information or monitor the completion rate.Womack said this will not ensure that every task is completed, but it will be used "to confirm and follow the progress of important projects."

It is also not a complaint tracking system, a wish list or a chat room, Mc- Cormick said.

There will also be a section for archived projects.

The forum is not a software system, but instead a free service provided by the City Connections Web site. The current Microsoft Outlook system was evaluated but not everyone can view the program, McCormick said.

"It's not everything, but it's free and it's a start," North Brunswick's former police director said. "Hopefully if this takes off … we can improve it."

Womack said the program was needed to do past instances of a lack of communication on projects. He said this is just one component ofMcCormick's overall assignment, which will be to "go from department to department to determine where the efficiencies and inefficiencies are, where changes can be made to make things more efficient and to save taxpayer dollars."McCormick is also compiling a visual diagram of how the town works to further increase the efficiency of operations.

The Projects Forum should be ready for a trial run in about two weeks.