SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco’s information and technology spending has increased 80 percent over the past 5 years, making up 5 percent of the city’s $9.6 billion budget.

The spending has increased over time and in the current fiscal year, San Francisco has spent $481.5 million in an efforts to modernize technology.

On Friday, February 17, Mayor Edwin M. Lee and City Administrator Naomi Kelly announced the hiring of Carrie Bishop as San Francisco’s first chief digital services officer.

“We know that today, our residents expect online services from The City. With a chief digital services officer, we can provide those services in the most modernized and efficient ways possible,” Lee said.

San Francisco plans to open more positions of “technologists,” in hopes to improve efficiency of technological advancements while still operating within the city’s budget. The plan states that the need for skilled professionals is growing with the advancements in modern technology.

According to reports, the implementation of the Major IT Projects contributed to an influx of IT project workers over the last five years.

The new plan states $400,000 will go toward an online reporting system for short-term rentals, such as the temporary home rental service, Airbnb.

The plan aims to address homelessness by investing in a multi-million dollar data sharing program that will track and manage San Francisco’s homeless population.