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City of Lakeland

Location: Lakeland, Florida
Duration: February 2013 – October 2016 (3 years, 9 months)
Employment Type: Full-time · On-site

Municipal government serving the citizens of Lakeland, Florida with a focus on innovation and digital transformation of city services.

Software Developer​

Duration: February 2013 – October 2016 (3 years, 9 months)

Overview​

Pioneered the city's digital transformation through cloud adoption, modern development practices, and citizen-facing applications. Delivered significant cost savings through strategic technical decisions while leading a small development team and expanding the city's digital service capabilities.

Key Accomplishments​

Major Cost Savings​

  • Secured $300,000 Cost Savings - Rewrote Lakeland Electric's eServices Customer Self-Service Portal, migrating from legacy Java to .NET and consolidating 3 separate systems into a single sign-on platform, saving ~$300,000 over 5 years

Digital Services & Citizen Engagement​

  • Designed Lakeland Electric Portal - Built comprehensive self-service portal featuring:
    • Real-time Smart Meter integration
    • Online bill-pay and autopay
    • Usage alerting system
    • Gamified energy consumption comparison with neighbor benchmarking
  • Integrated Lakeland Theatre Website - Connected theatre website with city ticketing and events systems, creating seamless user experience that increased online ticket sales

Cloud Pioneering​

  • Initiated Cloud Adoption - Spearheaded city's first migration to Azure web hosting for internal websites and services, modernizing infrastructure and reducing reliance on on-premise systems

Custom Development​

  • Built Delion Project Manager - Created custom project management system using .NET to replace commercial tools, enabling teams to track tasks, priorities, statuses, and assets within budget constraints

CMS Modernization​

  • Spearheaded Umbraco Adoption - Led adoption of Umbraco CMS for new city websites and departmental sites, establishing modern content management foundation alongside the main city site (which remained on DNN/Evoq)
  • Oversaw DNN to Evoq Migration - Provided oversight for city website migration from DotNetNuke to Evoq when DNN changed their product offering, delegated to junior engineer

API & Integration Development​

  • Designed Web Services & APIs - Built SOAP/XML WCF Web Services and RESTful APIs integrating ASP.NET WebForms with customer systems, improving accessibility and interoperability

Team Leadership​

  • Led Development Team - Directed 2 developers working on Evoq/DotNetNuke and custom applications, expanding service delivery capabilities

Technologies & Skills Summary​

Core Technical Stack​

  • Languages: C#, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, Java (legacy migration)
  • Frameworks: .NET Framework, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET WebForms, jQuery, Bootstrap
  • CMS: Umbraco, DotNetNuke/Evoq
  • Cloud: Microsoft Azure (Web Apps, SQL Database, Storage)
  • Database: SQL Server, Azure SQL Database

Web Services & APIs​

  • SOAP/XML: WCF Web Services
  • REST: RESTful API Development
  • Integration: Third-party API Integration
  • Authentication: Single Sign-On (SSO), Forms Authentication

Specialized Integrations​

  • Smart Meter Systems: Real-time utility data integration
  • Payment Processing: Online bill-pay, autopay systems
  • Ticketing Systems: Event management and sales
  • Municipal Systems: Various city department integrations

Architecture & Design​

  • Software Architecture & Solution Design
  • Cloud Migration Strategy
  • Legacy System Modernization (Java to .NET)
  • System Consolidation & Integration
  • API-First Development
  • Responsive Web Design

Project Management & Leadership​

  • Team Leadership (2 developers)
  • Project Management
  • Budget-Conscious Development
  • Stakeholder Communication
  • Vendor Management

Process & Methodology​

  • Cloud Adoption & Migration
  • CMS Selection & Implementation
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Citizen-Centric Design
  • Government IT Best Practices

Notable Projects​

Lakeland Electric eServices Customer Self-Service Portal​

Timeline: Multi-year project (2013-2016)
Technologies: .NET, ASP.NET MVC, Azure, SQL Server, SSO, Smart Meter APIs, Payment Processing

Complete rewrite and consolidation of Lakeland Electric's customer self-service systems. Migrated from legacy Java codebase to modern .NET, consolidating 3 separate systems into a unified platform with comprehensive utility customer features:

Platform Modernization:

  • Migrated from legacy Java to modern .NET
  • Consolidated 3 separate systems into unified platform
  • Implemented single sign-on (SSO) across services
  • Migrated to Azure cloud infrastructure

Customer Features:

  • Real-time Smart Meter Integration - Live energy consumption data
  • Online Bill-Pay - Secure payment processing
  • Autopay - Recurring payment automation
  • Usage Alerting - Notifications for high consumption
  • Gamified Benchmarking - Compare energy usage with neighbors

Impact:

  • $300,000 cost savings over 5 years
  • Improved citizen experience with unified login
  • Increased online payment adoption
  • Reduced call center volume
  • Empowered customers with consumption insights
  • Promoted energy conservation through gamification
  • Reduced maintenance complexity
  • Enhanced security and reliability
  • Established foundation for future digital services

Delion Project Management System​

Timeline: 2014-2015
Technologies: .NET, ASP.NET MVC, SQL Server

Custom-built project management solution:

  • Task tracking and assignment
  • Priority management
  • Status reporting
  • Asset tracking
  • Team collaboration features

Impact:

  • Eliminated need for commercial PM tools
  • Saved licensing costs
  • Customized to city-specific workflows
  • Enabled better project visibility
  • Improved team coordination

Umbraco CMS Adoption for City Websites​

Timeline: 2015-2016
Technologies: Umbraco CMS, .NET, Azure

Established Umbraco as the platform for new city websites and departmental sites, creating a modern content management foundation alongside the existing monolithic city website (which remained on DNN/Evoq):

  • Deployed Umbraco for new city websites and departmental sites
  • Established modern content management patterns
  • Improved editor experience for new sites
  • Enhanced site performance
  • Simplified maintenance for newer properties

Impact:

  • Reduced CMS complexity for new projects
  • Improved content editor productivity
  • Better performance and scalability for new sites
  • Lower total cost of ownership for departmental sites
  • Dual-platform strategy supporting both legacy and modern needs

DNN to Evoq Migration​

Timeline: 2014-2015
Technologies: DotNetNuke, Evoq, .NET

Oversaw the migration of the main city website from DotNetNuke to Evoq when DNN changed their product offering:

  • Provided technical oversight and guidance
  • Delegated implementation to junior engineer
  • Ensured continuity of city web presence
  • Validated migration success

Impact:

  • Maintained vendor support and product updates
  • Ensured compliance with DNN's new licensing model
  • Minimal disruption to city website operations
  • Professional development opportunity for junior team member

Lakeland Theatre Website & Integration​

Timeline: 2015-2016
Technologies: .NET, Ticketing API Integration, Payment Processing

Integrated theatre experience:

  • Connected website with city ticketing system
  • Integrated events management
  • Implemented online ticket sales
  • Seamless payment processing

Impact:

  • Increased online ticket sales
  • Improved customer convenience
  • Reduced box office workload
  • Better event promotion capabilities

Azure Cloud Migration Initiative​

Timeline: 2014-2016
Technologies: Microsoft Azure, Azure Web Apps, Azure SQL Database

Pioneered cloud adoption for city:

  • Migrated internal websites to Azure
  • Moved services to cloud infrastructure
  • Implemented Azure SQL Database
  • Established cloud best practices

Impact:

  • Reduced on-premise infrastructure needs
  • Improved scalability and reliability
  • Lower operational costs
  • Better disaster recovery capabilities
  • Positioned city for digital innovation

Web Services & API Development​

Timeline: Throughout tenure
Technologies: WCF, SOAP/XML, RESTful APIs, ASP.NET WebForms

Extensive integration layer development:

  • Built SOAP/XML WCF Web Services
  • Developed RESTful APIs
  • Integrated ASP.NET WebForms applications
  • Connected various city department systems

Impact:

  • Improved system interoperability
  • Enabled department collaboration
  • Better data accessibility
  • Foundation for future integrations

Awards & Recognition​

Empowered Workforce Award​

Issued by: City of Lakeland - Michael Vera
Date: March 2013

"Carolyn, Jose, Lisa, and Ariel have taken the initiative to use IT Development's wiki documentation site, which allows fast access to technical information about the software employed at the City of Lakeland. This is an ideal demonstration of open communication. It also demonstrates personal responsibility because information which may normally be kept only in an employee's head is readily available and easily searched. By sharing information in this manner, IT customer issues can be more quickly resolved. Knowledge Management is very important to any organization, as are these four VIPs."

— Michael Vera

Recognized for initiative in knowledge management and documentation, demonstrating open communication and personal responsibility in making technical information accessible across the IT department.