Local Government

Artificial intelligence has “significant implications for municipal governance,” according to a hearing order the City Council approved. The hearing will convene city tech cabinet members, experts on AI and others.

The Loveland City Council has approved a new technology fee on building permits that will generate enough revenue to pay annual maintenance costs and a new IT employee to support it.

While it's still unclear how federal DOGE efforts will impact state and local government, investing in tools like artificial intelligence can help do more with less while being both efficient and effective.

In the annual Digital Cities Survey, top performers are prioritizing cybersecurity and customer experience, as well as harnessing AI. The following takeaways offer a snapshot view.

The project is nearing completion, with training on the new court management system slated to begin this spring. Paid for entirely by federal funds, it will eventually allow for electronic filing of court documents.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department recently finished installing stationary license plate reader cameras, which scan plates and run them through national crime databases.

The Fort Bend County Commissioners Court voted March 6 to spend nearly $2.6 million to retain the services of several cybersecurity firms. The move comes as the Fort Bend Public Library recently confronted online outages.

The state has a reputation for high housing costs and bureaucracy in front of developers. But city planners hope a new online tool could help make it easier for residents to build smaller shelters.

The technology company’s self-driving vehicles will offer rides to users of the company’s app in all or parts of four Northern California cities. People in the new service zone will be chosen from a pool of eligible app users.

Commissioners have approved a new system that will ensure staff at the county jail check inmates the preferred four times per day. Actions such as administering medication and other daily needs will each require a scan.

Mayor Jon Costas announced that the city will stop exploring the feasibility of a data center in the city after a large crowd of residents voiced vociferous opposition to the project at a City Council meeting.

The city's former CIO Bill Zielinski retired in April and its CTO has stepped in as interim. The successful applicant will lead Dallas’ Information and Technology Services Department and its five divisions.

Leyla Layman takes over as interim CIO, with responsibilities that include overhauling the city camera system. Carter became CIO in 2020, one year after a ransomware attack directed at the city of Baltimore.

A cyber attack that prompted Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to send in the National Guard to aid an investigation has shuttered the court since Feb. 23. It will reopen Wednesday but its website remains offline.

State officials have hired Civix to provide new software, updating its voter registration database and election management system. Its current solution is more than 20 years old, and is now used only by Pennsylvania.

Cubic has introduced gates for transit systems that are equipped with technology including artificial intelligence, to differentiate between a rider slipping through a gate without paying and a mother struggling with a stroller.

The Sausalito City Council was prompted to call off its latest meeting after what the city manager called a "blunt force" hacking attempt on the computer system.

The San Fernando Valley city's new chief information officer was most recently IT director for the Southern California municipality. He has public- and private-sector experience in IT, management and technical roles.