38% of local government information technology budgets will decrease over the next two years as a result of the economic slowdown, according to the results of a national survey conducted by Public Technology Institute (PTI) and INPUT.

The survey, “The State of City and County IT 2008,” targeted local government Chief Information Officers (CIO) and Information Technology (IT) department directors.

The areas of the IT budget impacted by the economic climate include:

• Staff Development and Training: 38% of respondents stated this budget item will decrease over the next two years, while 53% stated this budget item will remain the same;

• Travel for Educational Events for IT Department Staff: 54% of respondents stated this budget item will decrease over the next two years, while 39% stated this budget item will stay the same.

When asked to identify their high priority issues for the next 12 to 18 months, CIOs selected public safety interoperability (54%) and E-government services, to include deploying more interactive and collaborative tools for engaging the public (46%).

“Clearly, IT services are impacted by the reduction in government revenues,” said Alan Shark, Executive Director of PTI.  “IT executives will be challenged now more than ever before to provide strong leadership as IT departments struggle to meet increased expectations while facing declining resources.”  Chris Dixon, Manager of State and Local Market Analysis with INPUT noted, “It’s encouraging to see that most local CIOs are confident in the stability of their training and development budgets, despite the current economic crisis.  Being familiar with the potential cost-saving benefits of new technologies is arguably more important during a fiscal downturn.”