Local Government

The City Council this week began discussing a new policy about the use of police department drones. One provision would require officers to obtain a search warrant before launching the device for surveillance purposes.

Rural parts of the state are seeing 24/7 book vending machines in places like city halls. The machines are meant to bridge the gap for areas not populated enough for a full-time library.

The food delivery robots used on the University of Idaho campus could soon find their way to city streets under a proposal being considered by Moscow city leaders. The one-year agreement would only allow 30 of the devices to operate.

There's no question that a responsive, innovative government is more critical than ever. Here are some issues that are top of mind for state and local technology leaders as we take on the new year.

New software, called tip411, is making it possible for residents to submit anonymous crime tips to police via text message. The tool also allows the department to respond to the messages in real time.

The county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance to become a certified Broadband Forward! Community. The designation is part of a state effort to encourage the development of broadband access across the state.

Hackers reportedly stole nearly 20GBs of data from police agency vendor ODIN Intelligence, including personal information on suspects and convicted sex offenders as well as plans for upcoming police raids.

The December cyber attack against third-party vendor Cott Systems knocked the records services offline for several weeks. Officials now report that the system is back online and that no data was lost in the incident.

Following the departure of the director of innovation, the city’s Innovation Management Team’s leadership is changing. The mission of supporting city departments in their innovation work, however, will remain the same.

Turlock Police are set to install license plate cameras on multiple intersections in the hopes of addressing an uptick in crime. Officials say the technology will be shared with the Stanislaus County Sherriff's Office.

Four projects across three townships are being planned to expand Internet access, county officials announced this week. Ligonier, Fairfield and Derry townships will be seeing upgrades under the plans.

The proposed center would provide public entities with cyber solutions, develop the cyber workforce and deliver training and awareness across sectors. Efforts to pass this measure in 2022 ran out of time; a new House bill revives the question.

After four years of serving as the city’s CIO, Evans shared that he will be stepping down at the end of the month. Michael Walker will take over in an interim capacity as a national search is conducted for his replacement.

The new software will integrate city police, prosecutors and the court with the information needed to automate workflows and quick legal processes. The system is expected to be in place by the summer.

In a unanimous vote this week, Cleveland County commissioners opted to ban TikTok from all county-owned devices. The move closely follows a Dec. 8 executive order issued by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office went live with an online reporting system for non-emergency calls. The office has had to keep up with the demands of a growing population and limited staff.

The GovTech 100 company sells process management software to U.S. and Canadian public agencies and has a growing business in the FOIA space. A private equity firm bought the company in 2021.

As Albuquerque's Department of Technology and Innovation Director Brian Osterloh approaches the end of a nearly 20-year career with the local government, the search for his replacement has begun.