Local Government

The COVID-19 pandemic forced government organizations to explore newer creative avenues to engagement with the community, taking meetings and other events out of conference rooms, and interacting with more community members.

Various experts have suggested that states should spend opioid settlement dollars on data-focused technology. So far, states have been quiet on possible tech investments, citing other steps that must be taken first.

Fax machines have largely disappeared from private-sector offices, yet remain in many state and local government agencies. Eliminating them will not only save money, but also push forward digital services.

Officials in Pottawatomie County, Kan., negotiated a much-reduced ransom with the criminals behind a cyber attack that took the county's computer systems offline for close to two weeks.

Governments are embracing a larger role in collective cybersecurity, creating cross-jurisdictional partnerships to make states, cities and counties more secure. Here's what that looks like in practice.

The project — which seeks to replace disparate computer systems that handle everything from the county budget to payroll — is now led by IT administrator Connie Geddis, Chief Information Officer Andy Johnson has said.

The city of Aurora, Ill., partnered with KnowBe4 to develop a free online Internet security course for its residents. The course contains eight different lessons and is in response to the new norm of remote work.

Los Angeles County court officials discussed what they learned while launching hybrid court sessions during the pandemic, including outfitting courtrooms, comparing commercial and custom platforms and supporting participants.

Incompatibility between new software and old meters led to higher water and sewer bills for residents of Akron, Ohio. The city had planned to install new smart meters, but the U.S. chip shortage has stalled progress.

Worthington, Mass., is the latest town that has benefited from the Last Mile Program, which is working to bring high-speed Internet to 53 towns. Worthington's network is the result of a public-private partnership.

After last year’s worldwide protests in the wake of high-profile racial injustice within U.S. policing, community leaders have prioritized equity. And within that, an increasing number of cities are turning to tech.

Courts around the country got creative during the pandemic, moving clerks’ support onto Zoom, offering self-serve hearing scheduling on Doodle and taking judges and court sessions on the road, and the river.

The cyber landscape has evolved to an almost unrecognizable degree in the past twenty years. We look at recent history, analyze policy changes aimed at battling today’s threats and consider what the future may hold.

Plus, the Federal Communications Commission commits $1 billion to emergency connectivity program aimed at students, Philadelphia plans to continue its PHLDonateTech program for another year, and more.

Lexington, Ky., is considering a proposal that would use $3.4 million in city money to lure up to 200 high-wage remote workers to the area over two years, with each worker receiving $10,000 in moving allowances.

As part of a $500,000 pilot program, Sacramento, Calif., will install 100 air quality monitors in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Such areas tend to have worse air quality than their counterparts.

Are stricter privacy regulations a good thing? As more state and local governments look to protect data privacy, a couple of industry experts point out some of the challenges associated with these types of policies.

To look at how the pandemic affected the way people, particularly those in marginalized communities, interact with law enforcement, researchers analyzed arrest rates in U.S. cities pre- and post-lockdown.