Digital Services

Despite a shift in the definition of the term “smart city” in recent years, the effort to make cities smarter continues, and it has evolved to include new technologies — and even tech-agnostic approaches.

Municipal law enforcement has begun the physical device reprogramming process that will ultimately take its police scanner traffic off the air. A privacy advocate noted the need for greater transparency into government work.

New York City’s new pilot program, Neighborhood Tech Help, will deliver access to in-person technical support for affordable housing developments and community centers, to expand digital literacy.

The city has rolled out a new 311 app and request platform that enhances how residents request and track help in real time. Its features include being able to show a location by dropping a pin.

Gov. Greg Abbott has approved establishing the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, with a projected budget of $22.8 million. It joins the legislative Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee, created earlier this year.

Plus, Idaho will soon end its digital navigator helpline, an Illinois county is distributing software licenses for digital skills training, Cleveland State University supports digital skills and more.

Officials in the city of about 129,000 residents are probing a server outage detected Friday. They’re working with cybersecurity experts and have disconnected “affected and critical assets to secure our systems.”

Officials at the Florida city have elevated its chief digital officer to acting chief information officer. Tamecka McKay, the now-former CIO and director of the IT Services Department, has stepped down.

Jeff Baer, the city’s longtime chief technology officer and director of the Bureau of Technology Services, has retired. As officials seek his replacement, the job’s working title has been updated to CIO.

The site, which debuted Monday, offers an update system through which property owners can be alerted to fraud. It’s part of an endeavor underway since 2020 and involved moving millions of records to the new platform.

The measure’s lead sponsor removed it from consideration before a vote. The 12-member City Council unanimously sent the proposed ban on using algorithms to set residential rents back to committee.

Plus, new federal broadband legislation has been introduced, North Carolina has launched a new grant program, an apprenticeship program has been created in Ohio, and more.

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Program will continue operating with an 11-month continuation of its federal contract. It will ultimately transition to the newly launched CVE Foundation.

In remarks Tuesday at the California CIO Academy in Sacramento, state CIO Liana Bailey-Crimmins highlighted the response to this year’s Los Angeles wildfires as an example of a human-centered response to a crisis.

Officials have expanded the service to seven parks and a four-mile stretch of business corridor, in a bid to improve digital literacy and quality of life. An additional rollout is planned later this year.

Kerry Goode, who had served as chief information officer and director of the city’s Technology Solutions Department since 2010, has moved on. Officials have looked within to find Durham’s new interim CIO.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has reported a cyber attack that is affecting communications and operations including vehicle inspections. Some services will be shuttered through the weekend.

Plus, North Carolina announces broadband funding, Barriers to Broadband fellows will tackle several research projects, a campaign eyes device upcycling to drive online access, and more.