Local Government

The local government will migrate to Civic Plus next year, after county commissioners voted to spend more than $20,000 to do so. The county’s existing offering was bought out and officials decided to look elsewhere, querying other counties to learn what they used.

Last month, King County Metro started a pilot project mounting cameras equipped with artificial intelligence on two buses to watch for drivers in transit-only lanes.

Jason Balderama, a county technology official, has started working as a consultant for the housing authority to coordinate the investigation and advise on how to strengthen its Internet defenses.

Cache County, located in the northern part of the state, wanted to move beyond spreadsheets and papers in seeking federal funding for playgrounds and other facilities. Its new solution offers a unified view.

Denver appointed a new chief information security officer, Merlin Namuth, in October. He is building relationships as the foundation for a people-centered approach to cybersecurity in the city and county.

Once several were damaged, local officials decided they needed to clarify what these sensors were and weren’t. Last year, the town posted a small sign beneath many clarifying their function.

The city has hired a well-known local architecture firm to oversee engineering and design on a new police headquarters that would enable all officers to work from one facility. The move comes as the Dec. 31 deadline for cities to allocate federal American Rescue Plan funds looms.

The Boulder City Council has unanimously approved a long-awaited agreement that will eventually empower the rollout of citywide broadband. Officials signed off on letting ALLO Communications LLC lease part of the city’s fiber backbone for 20 years.

The recent fortunes of local initiatives reveal a shifting landscape in U.S. transportation policy — driven by political, economic and environmental factors. What lies ahead is, as yet, unclear.

The work of state-level CISOs is expanding to help serve the cyber needs of small municipalities and vulnerable groups, a NASCIO report affirms. Whole-of-state cybersecurity and grants are helping drive the endeavor.

The city manager began the budgeting process anew with new software that provides a more granular, transparent view of finances, and a “true cost allocation” of revenue and expenses. The result was a proposed 2025 budget with no deficit or sharp service cuts.

The Florida city’s newest technology is an effort to bring search further in the 21st century via a Polimorphic tool. A city official talks about use cases and lessons learned — experiences that could guide other towns.

Honolulu's new CIO and director of the Department of Information Technology will officially step in, in January. However, the transition is expected to get underway next month, affording an interval of collaboration.

The state's second-largest county by land area is working with eX² Technology to stand up a 200-mile fiber-optic network, bringing high-speed Internet to more than 20 cities and at least one higher education institution.

In addition to upskilling and transforming their workforce, IT leaders in government are investing in enterprise technology that can scale for the future.

City and county officials discussed partnering with community organizations and technologists from Google.org on digital tools to resolve neighborhood issues, during a “Demo Day” webinar hosted by The Opportunity Project for Cities.

Members of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board voted 4-3 for code language defining three classes of electric bicycles as “non-motorized use.” The City Council could hear the proposal next month.

The National League of Cities released a report this week outlining strategic ways municipalities are using artificial intelligence to better serve constituents. An accompanying toolkit aims to facilitate analysis.