🙌 Before we jump in we just want to say thank you and give a huge shoutout to Daniel Looney, Systems Administrator II for the City of Vacaville, for being an absolute rockstar—and for letting us share his story.
Managing a complex, citywide camera system solo is no small feat. But Daniel does it with clarity, care, and an eye for the bigger picture. The way he’s used The Boring Toolbox to bring visibility, structure, and resilience to the City of Vacaville’s Milestone system is nothing short of impressive.
Daniel, thank you for your time, your insights, your transparency, and most of all—your trust. We’re so proud to be part of the system you’ve built.
Your work keeps people safe, connected, and informed. And we’re honored to support it.
The City of Vacaville’s video security system started simple: a handful of site surveillance cameras to monitor city buildings. But as their downtown grew busier—and their police department launched a Real-Time Information Center (RTIC)—their needs skyrocketed.
Fast-forward to today: 240 cameras across city sites, intersections, and major thoroughfares, all feeding into the Milestone XProtect platform that needed to keep up with the city’s expansion.
And before The Boring Toolbox entered the picture, monitoring the camera system was reactive at best—and chaotic at worst.
“Before Boring, [system health] was basically out of sight, out of mind. We just didn’t have the tools to be proactive.”
— Daniel Looney, Systems Administrator II for the City of Vacaville.
Managing Vacaville’s growing fleet of cameras without a centralized, actionable view created major roadblocks:
Vacaville needed a way to move from “squeaky wheel” maintenance to true system oversight. They needed visibility, automation, and smarter workflows.
A simple Google search—“how to mass rename cameras in Milestone”—led Daniel to The Boring Toolbox.
What began as a search for an easier way to rename devices uncovered a much deeper opportunity: a way to proactively manage the entire camera fleet with less stress, better data, and more confidence. A tool built by people who understood the complexities of managing Milestone.
“As soon as I saw what Boring Toolbox could do, I knew that I was going to need it.”
For the first time, Vacaville could see and manage their system—with streamlined alerts and minimal manual effort.
Today, The Boring Toolbox is a core part of Vacaville’s daily operations.
Here’s how it transformed their workflow:
“Managing the video system is just one element of my job, so having a single pane of glass that I can quickly open and review is a game changer. I just scan for any red flags—if there aren’t any, I know the camera system is healthy and I can move on with confidence.”
With The Boring Toolbox in place, the City of Vacaville shifted from a reactive break-fix mindset to proactive management:
And it didn’t just improve operations—it improved relationships.
“Boring Toolbox helps us bridge the gap between IT and our customer departments. We can send automated reports that provide the information they need about the system without overwhelming them. It gives them the warm fuzzy feeling that IT cares.”
In the words of Daniel, the City of Vacaville’s Systems Administrator:
The Boring Toolbox fills the gaps Milestone leaves behind—so you can catch problems early, fix things faster, and spend less time clicking around.
See how The Boring Toolbox can make your job easier and way less boring.
👉 Start your 30-day free trial today.
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