Digital Services

A new executive order adds teeth to the state’s permit transparency and streamlining work. It instructs agencies to do more to simplify the user experience on their platform, and bring more approval processes on board.

The territory’s digital ID initiative, IDEAL, lets government agencies do a better job of sharing information they already have on residents, after securing their permission. It’s aimed at simplifying processes and making them quicker.

Officials will use electronic pollbooks to speed up how they identify and sign in voters during early voting, when any location can be used, but ballots must still belong to their precinct. The tablets are not connected to the Internet.

Plus, a federal digital equity program received hundreds of applications, a tracker illustrates the rising trend of digital service teams, new research quantifies the positive effects of fiber broadband on rural communities and more.

Officials at the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County said the entity, a water and sewer utility, recovered more than $826,000 stolen in a “vendor impersonator” phishing scheme. This, an expert said, is a rare occurrence.

The availability of more than $28 million in grant money is aimed at supporting the build-out of infrastructure. Greenwich, Conn., affluent but underserved, will get the most this round, approximately $1.8 million.

Three existing government technology firms, including Black Mountain Software, comprise the new company, which said it has 2,000 clients out of the gate. The deal includes backing from Black Mountain owner Peterson Partners, an investment firm.

A new mobile notification system in Somerset County lets 911 officials notify people nearby who may be able to help. A $25,000 grant from the 1889 Foundation funded the system, but the app is free for people to download.

Libraries taking part in a Digital Equity Pilot Project will bring on digital helpers to give residents free tech assistance and build online skills. A $250,000 national leadership grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services underpins the effort.

The state’s third most populous county is applying for a digital equity grant designed to further digital inclusion and equity. Currently, more than 19,000 residents lack broadband.

Michael Sloon, its acting CIO and a longtime executive, has stepped away after more than 15 years at the city. The City Council affirmed his successor as acting CIO, but a recruitment is not immediately planned.

Transit providers in rural areas are experimenting with data-sharing technology to improve services, by introducing modern features like trip planning to form more coordinated, regionwide systems. One system is already seeing results.

The electric vehicle charging network is close to securing a federal Department of Energy loan and plans to stand up 7,500 high-speed chargers in five years. It and other companies are working to make charging simpler and more pleasant.

Steven Martin, a longtime IT executive in the southwest, will join Glendale, Ariz., later this month as its CIO. He brings public- and private-sector leadership experience to the role, where he will set the city's tech strategy and provide ongoing program analysis.

The underground blaze in downtown Sunday knocked out service to facilities around the state. Service levels may still vary, and some libraries may be temporarily closed.

The organization's yearly State CIO Survey, released during its annual conference, documents perspectives on the growing role of AI and digital transformation in better serving constituents. State IT workforces, it indicates, are foundational to meeting rising demand for digital services.

City officials will begin working to forecast pothole hot spots in order to find and fill holes that have gone unreported. An audit last spring recommended using mapping software to reduce the distances between pothole jobs; the city will explore it.

At NASCIO, Illinois CIO Sanjay Gupta says he has won direct appropriations for tech from state officials. He wants to move away from the chargeback model eventually, which he says will result in better services.