Civic Tech

The My Whitfield community mobile app offers details on area housing, careers and events as well as links to regional municipal websites. It was developed in partnership between the county, the city of Dalton, and civic organizations.

Attorneys are asking Sacramento, Calif., officials to stop sharing automated license plate reader information with out-of-state law enforcement agencies that could use it to prosecute people seeking abortions or gender-affirming medical care.

A pact with Visionary Broadband will connect city and government buildings, emergency dispatch and schools, as well as businesses and homes. The move should improve communication and drive competition in broadband.

The Omni Fiber deployment is part of its planned expansion across Mercer County. Work began this month and service is expected to launch in phases beginning in August. The project will not require state, federal or local funding.

The company introduced two-way text messaging for the GovDelivery solution, to more directly connect the public sector and residents — but also enhance agencies’ ability to gather feedback and improve services.

The new technology, demonstrated Wednesday at the city’s international airport, verifies travelers’ identities by matching an ID to a photo taken at a TSA checkpoint. The system alerts on fraudulent or expired identification.

From Minnesota to California, technology workers are confronting a job market that, while long filled with opportunity, appears to now be oversaturated with candidates. The U.S. tech sector has shed more than 74,000 jobs so far this year.

Bill Zielinski, who has led the Information and Technology Services department since 2020, will step down April 30. In recent years, he led the city’s response to a ransomware attack, and to the deletion of millions of police records.

City law enforcement will use an $800,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Administration to implement and evaluate three different technologies including ShotSpotter.

Hawaii’s capital city is piloting artificial intelligence-based software for building plan reviews, and will fully implement a new platform that went live in February. Updates to a third system are planned this year, all in the name of faster permitting.

The new 2023 Geospatial Maturity Assessment report from the National States Geographic Information Council evaluated 46 states and Washington, D.C. It highlights successes and disparities in GIS integration, and emphasizes collaboration.

The federal grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will pay for a project to increase safety in the downtown Fremont Street area, including using AI to adjust traffic signals and the timing of crossing flashers.

Sheriff’s deputies in Kanawha County, W.Va., donned body-worn cameras Wednesday as part of a $3 million county program. All 106 deputies in the county will get the devices, along with in-car cameras by early June.

Officials hope to break ground in April on the Habitat Green Freedom subdivision, in Aurora, Ill. The new 17-home area will feature solar panels, battery storage, in-ground fiber and devices including smart thermostats.

Riverside-based ElDorado National—California (ENC), a subsidiary of REV Group Inc., of Wisconsin, will wind down its business. Its clients include the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

Cox Enterprises’ purchase of OpenGov, which valued the company at a landmark $1.8 billion, saw it buy out private equity stakes in the firm. A company executive said it offers “long-term stability” as investments in AI for local government are planned.

The Kettering Police Department, outside Dayton, Ohio, will dramatically increase its use of automated license plate readers this year. Capacity is expected to rise by 300 percent.

Just over a year since the launch of Atlanta’s new Office of Technology and Innovation, city tech leaders reflect on the role of the office in the city's work to build a broader technology ecosystem.