title
A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Urging the Expansion and Modernization of Allegheny Connect as a Unified Digital Gateway for County Government Services.
body
WHEREAS, Allegheny County has demonstrated leadership in digital service delivery through the creation of Allegheny Connect, a centralized platform connecting residents with human services, housing resources, healthcare information, transportation assistance, and other essential programs; and
WHEREAS, residents frequently interact with multiple County departments and agencies for services relating to elections, property assessments, taxes, parks and recreation, permits, licenses, public records, workforce development, public health, and constituent services; and
WHEREAS, many County services remain distributed across multiple websites, platforms, departments, and administrative systems, creating barriers to access and making it difficult for residents to navigate government efficiently; and
WHEREAS, modern digital government practices emphasize centralized, user-friendly, secure, and accessible digital services that improve transparency, efficiency, public engagement, and resident satisfaction; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County has the opportunity to build upon the success of Allegheny Connect and establish a long-term digital government modernization initiative unofficially designated as the "Allegheny One," initiative, guided by the principle of One Login, One Account, One County; and
WHEREAS, the Council of Allegheny County recognizes that residents should not need to understand the organizational structure of government in order to access public services;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby resolves as follows:
SECTION 1.
County Council hereby establishes the concept of the "Allegheny One Initiative," a long-term effort to modernize and integrate County digital services through the continued expansion of Allegheny Connect into a comprehensive countywide government services platform.
SECTION 2.
The Department of Information Technology, Department of Human Services, Department of Administrative Services, and all relevant County departments are encouraged to evaluate opportunities to expand Allegheny Connect as the digital backbone of the Allegheny One Initiative.
SECTION 3.
The Allegheny One Initiative shall evaluate opportunities to integrate and provide centralized access to:
A. Property assessment information, appeals, and parcel resources;
B. Real estate tax information and payment services;
C. Elections information, voter resources, polling locations, and ballot tracking information;
D. Parks, trails, recreation programs, facility reservations, and County amenities;
E. Public health information, inspections, permits, licenses, and public health alerts;
F. Human services programs, benefits navigation, and resource referrals;
G. Employment opportunities and workforce development resources;
H. Economic development programs, business assistance resources, and investment opportunities;
I. Legislative information, agendas, public meetings, livestreams, and public participation opportunities;
J. Open records request submissions and tracking;
K. Constituent service requests and referrals;
L. Emergency alerts, public notices, and service disruptions.
SECTION 4.
The County shall evaluate the feasibility of establishing a secure resident account system allowing users to:
A. Access County services through a single sign-on platform;
B. Track applications, permits, appeals, registrations, and service requests;
C. Receive personalized notifications and updates;
D. Access and securely store commonly used County documents and records;
E. Manage communications with participating County departments;
F. Customize service preferences and alerts.
SECTION 5.
A. The County shall further evaluate, where feasible, opportunities to incorporate:
1. Artificial intelligence-assisted service navigation and information retrieval;
2. Multilingual support services;
3. Accessibility enhancements for individuals with disabilities;
4. Mobile application functionality;
5. Secure digital document submission and verification;
6. Digital service tracking and resident dashboards.
B. The County shall make every reasonable effort to evaluate and pursue the technologies and enhancements identified in this Section. Where implementation of a particular feature is determined to be infeasible due to legal, technical, operational, cybersecurity, privacy, or fiscal constraints, the County shall identify alternative approaches that further the purposes and goals of the Allegheny One Initiative.
SECTION 6.
The Council further encourages exploration of voluntary partnerships with municipalities, municipal authorities, school districts, and regional governmental entities to create a more seamless resident experience and reduce duplication of government technology systems throughout Allegheny County.
SECTION 7.
A. The Department of Information Technology and other relevant departments are requested to provide County Council, within one hundred eighty (180) days of adoption of this Resolution, a report identifying:
1. Existing Allegheny Connect capabilities;
2. Opportunities for integration across County departments;
3. Opportunities for municipal participation and regional collaboration;
4. Estimated implementation costs and staffing needs;
5. Available federal, state, private, and philanthropic funding opportunities;
6. Recommendations for phased implementation of the Allegheny One Initiative.
B. The Department of Information Technology shall prepare the report utilizing existing staff resources to the greatest extent practicable and may seek technical assistance from educational institutions, philanthropic partners, governmental entities, and existing County technology vendors.
SECTION 8.
The Chief Clerk shall transmit copies of this Resolution to the County Executive, Chief Information Officer, Director of Human Services, Director of Administrative Services, and all County department heads.
SECTION 9. Severability.
If any provision of this Resolution shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Resolution, which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 10. Repealer.
Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Resolution.