Local Government

Cyber criminals diverted four monthly payments meant for a vendor involved with rebuilding the town’s high school, and they carefully managed compromised employee email accounts to hide the fraud.

The new tool provides information on current and past elections, including locations of ballot boxes and voting centers, directions and hours. It integrates updated voter turnout information with other data streams.

The director and assistant director of the county’s Board of Elections and Registration became certified elections registration administrators through Auburn University and The Election Center.

A costly scam perpetrated against the city of Fresno in 2020 could have been halted, a Fresno County Civil Grand Jury found, in a report released Thursday. City practices have since been improved, the report found.

A former mayor of Compton, Calif., who oversaw the country’s largest experiment with universal basic income, thinks a new software platform can help bootstrap underserved communities.

City Council members voted unanimously to make the career Florida executive permanent in both roles. Hayden, who was previously infrastructure services manager, has served as interim CIO and CTO since January.

The CivStart Innovation Hub will have the backing of the advocacy group for municipal governments across the country, as it seeks to help those jurisdictions better understand startups and their technology.

The move comes as the gov tech company seeks a greater profile in the marketplace, eyes more U.S. growth and plans to expand its AI-backed offerings. The CEO explains how the change came about.

The city is cautioning constituents to look for signs of identity theft, after its phone lines and online payment system were compromised March 25. After the incident, officials worked with a third-party specialist to investigate.

The deputy city manager, who previously served as CIO for more than five years, will leave the Silicon Valley to become chief technology officer and head the Information Technology Department in Seattle, Wash.

The deal brings together a gov tech firm that focuses on local governments and an app that neighbors use to keep track of what’s going on. CivicPlus says the integration will boost civic engagement.

Samantha Sendrowski outlines her approach to AI, learning from her peers, and the advantages and challenges of managing systems in New England's second largest city.

AskCOS, the city of Colorado Springs’ new artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot, was trained using Colorado city government information alone. The virtual assistant can answer constituent questions in 71 languages.

University-based cybersecurity clinics are enabling students to offer basic cyber services to local governments, hospitals, nonprofits and other groups with limited resources for the work.

The city of San Jose has adopted an AI-powered translation tool to improve accessibility at City Council meetings for people who primarily speak a language other than English. It may see wider use, depending upon its performance thus far.

The recently announced Cyber Resilient Massachusetts Grant Program offers state funds to help address cybersecurity gaps identified by vulnerability assessments. Applications are due July 1.

The My Whitfield community mobile app offers details on area housing, careers and events as well as links to regional municipal websites. It was developed in partnership between the county, the city of Dalton, and civic organizations.

The Borough of Prospect Park has deployed a tool from gov tech startup Polimorphic to respond to incoming telephone calls. The artificial intelligence is helping a small staff connect with residents despite a reduced work week.