Finance

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the Bay Area is holding public meetings for community feedback on a plan to add tolling to the region’s most-crowded freeways to generate new funding for transit and other projects.

Henderson County commissioners have approved an agreement with ISP Brightspeed to enhance regional broadband services. The project will connect nearly 5,000 locations by mid 2026.

The fiscal challenges transit is facing are nothing new. To be financially resilient, transit agencies will need to rethink its funding options, and put more pressure on states to funnel federal cash.

Finance automation, powered by artificial intelligence technology, is helping to save Mt. Lebanon, Pa., a significant amount of time and is simplifying the accounts payable process.

The Buchanan County Sheriff's Office and Drug Strike Force are pursuing grant money for automated license plate readers. Officials say the technology helps to bridge resource gaps.

A $14.5 million project to develop a hybrid middle mile/last mile project to Idaho County and the city of Nezperce will bring a long overdue upgrade to Internet services in the north central part of the state.

This growing form of getting more from data is helping officials analyze spending that took place without top-level oversight. The tool could find its way into the hands of other public agencies for a variety of tasks.

New federal funding meant to update transportation infrastructure for more modern forms of mobility while also addressing heightened equity concerns seems to be holding fast to the status quo.

Plus, advocates applaud federal efforts to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, Empire State Development announces the members of its Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, and more.

ResourceX offers governments a way to budget based on strategy and outcomes instead of line items. Tyler Technologies announced a buyout of the company on the same day as a separate acquisition.

Completing an IT project can be slow and complicated — but before it even begins, the project approval itself can eat up months or years. Dan Kim has a proposal: Let's take some lessons from the TV show Shark Tank.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced $75 million in funding to combat the spike in hate speech and crime in the city. Funds will be used to provide new police technology and social media analysis, and more.

The Kanawha County Commission approved an almost $3 million purchase of body cameras, Tasers and license plate readers for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office during its meeting late last week.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office received official notification from the U.S. Department of the Treasury of the allocation of $167.7 million through the American Rescue Plan Act's Capital Projects Fund for broadband expansion efforts.

The new HelpDesk AI from Springbrook Software is designed to help customers find information about HR, payroll, tax collection and other tools. This marks the latest use of ChatGPT in tech made for local government.

Spectrum will soon lay fiber-optic cables in parts of southern and eastern Bexar County that lack high-speed Internet access or broadband infrastructure. The county will spend more than $5 million on the effort.

The county has accepted a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to expand broadband access. The grant will help make broadband available to 2,986 unserved or underserved households.

Speakers at the recent Micromobility America conference in the Bay Area issued a resounding call for aggressive and continued investment in the sector — particularly from public sources.