Local Government

Residents in rural Marion County likened Internet service to “a dead turtle” while offering officials feedback on the state of broadband in the region. The input was gathered as part of a six-county listening session.

The online group "Play" has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack against the city of Lowell's municipal network. The incident, now in its third week, has been disruptive to city operations.

Post-pandemic, gov tech's stock is high in states, cities and counties nationwide. CIOs and other IT leaders need to capitalize on this momentum now to ensure more big wins.

The Butte County Association of Governments has approved its annual budget for transit, which includes the purchase of four electric buses that are estimated to be on the road by the end of 2025.

The new brand comes amid significant acquisitions, a launch into a new gov tech market, and private equity ownership. CEO Craig Ross details the changes and talks about what’s to come.

The city of Chattanooga, Tenn., has announced the start of a holistic digital transformation initiative to create a “digital city hall,” with the ultimate goal of improving the digital service experience for constituents.

One option would provide an affordable monthly broadband plan through a local nonprofit, while the second option would come through a proposed agreement with SiFi Networks to build fiber-optic lines across the city.

For the last year and a half, four electric buses have been traveling routes throughout the city. Now, officials want to expand the use of the no-emission vehicles in line with the city's Climate Action Plan.

Police departments often struggle with the volume of calls coming in. This new product is designed to streamline the filing of non-emergency reports, give updates on the progress of complaints and free up officers for higher-priority work.

Digital twins, centered on several core pieces of technology, including the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, are making a critical difference locally and nationally in the government technology landscape.

Dallas officials are working to restore services after the city was hit with a ransomware attack earlier this week. The attack affected multiple systems, including police, courts and 311 as well as multiple city websites.

County officials have acknowledged that they paid the cyber extortionists who uploaded malware to the Sheriff's Department's computer system. The county paid $511,852 while insurance covered the remainder.

In Bloomington, Minn., officials are leveraging technology to bring the city’s community-driven strategic plan to life in a way that those who contributed to its creation can visualize and interpret.

In Marin County, Calif., technology is being used to analyze wastewater samples to provide health officials with a population-level perspective of drug use. That data is shaping response and intervention efforts.

Decatur City Council members are pushing for the reversal of one city board’s decision not to livestream meetings. The call for increased transparency comes amid some reluctance from some officials to stream public meetings.

Lowell, which is Massachusetts’ fifth largest city, discovered a cyber intrusion early last week, and its response saw many city systems taken offline. Meanwhile, Spartanburg County, S.C., was struck by ransomware, too.

The February ransomware attack against the Bay Area city exposed personal data and affected city systems for several weeks, but officials are now reporting significant progress in the recovery effort.

The City Council has approved the purchase of 38 license plate readers and four gunshot detection devices for the police department. The total cost is $499,300 and will come from the American Rescue Plan Act and Asset Forfeiture Funding.