Local Government

A simulated election and vote count test was a success this week — among the final steps before the county’s board of elections will propose buying new equipment. Current systems are aging but secure.

After Long Beach was hit with a cyber attack in November 2023, most of the city’s systems were briefly taken offline and replaced with a stripped back version of the government website, null.

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 Pennsylvania city has recently launched two new interactive devices, a dashboard and a free Wi-Fi locator. They’re intended to help expand awareness of the free Internet service available to residents.

City Council members voted unanimously to withdraw the renewal with a debt collector following word its 2024 data breach could have affected thousands. Hamilton County was also impacted.

A ransomware attack in February compromised private information of employees and students at Baltimore City Public Schools, and the city’s state’s attorney’s office was targeted in March.

Digital Realty Trust is looking to rezone 156 acres in west Charlotte to allow for a 3-million-square-foot data center. The proposal was heard at Monday’s City Council rezoning meeting.

A transit network in Seattle has introduced technology to reduce “bus bunching” and space vehicles evenly on a route. And a suburban bus company in Chicago is taking steps to transition its fleet to zero-emission vehicles.

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 government technology heavyweight has bought ePermitHub. That company’s technology will help Accela customers further streamline and automate public agency permitting tasks, including via the use of AI.

The county purchased new electronic poll pads to check in voters during the May 3 municipal elections. Its elections administrator said the local government has tested the devices and is ready for the upcoming contests.

A new suite of technology will enable real-time text updates to 911 callers on response times and delays. It will also let callers critique and review police officers, the city’s interim police chief said.

Many millions have been allocated to high-speed Internet endeavors. A more than $3 million project is nearly complete, while several others remain to be done. One initiative required “quite a bit of engineering work.”

Montgomery County in Maryland, part of the Washington, D.C., metro area, is in the midst of a five-year push to improve housing. A housing executive explains how new technology is helping to achieve that goal.

The Montgomery County, Pa., council aims to bring up to 15 people with experience in different sectors together to aid the county’s usage of artificial intelligence in an ethical and responsible fashion.

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.