Local Government

The local government is getting underway on a project to bring high-speed Internet to more than 400 additional homes and businesses. Its total cost is $1.7 million, with $1.3 million of that coming from a federal grant.

A 350,000-square-foot data center project up for discussion this week by the Chesapeake City Council may be postponed. The developer has indicated he would like more time to meet with community members.

The two companies serve local governments in need of accounting and billing software. Last year, Caselle came together with two other gov tech companies to form Govineer Solutions.

With the full integration of a new procurement solution, the Southern California city aims to simplify how it makes purchases by increasing automation and data analytics capabilities — while meeting compliance requirements.

The three devices are still being deployed in the town, the first municipality to gain state approval for automated cameras. Already, several repeat speeders have emerged, along with $21,000 from two weeks of fines.

Tribal communities are some of the nation’s least connected areas, making them fertile ground for innovative broadband deployments and tech. Speakers on a recent panel said open-access, tribe-owned systems may be best.

County Board members voted for public safety items that will stand up new electronic home monitoring services for offenders, and pay for a bomb robot resembling a dog, to be used in perilous situations.

Pima County’s administrator has recommended approval of a multibillion-dollar data center complex that could become one of the largest electricity users in the Tucson Electric Power system.

The Hammond Common Council signed off on a development pact for a planned $7 billion data center endeavor. Terms give owners a break on property taxes, and give the city a yearly “community impact payment.”

The National League of Cities aims to give its local government members access to CRM and other tools that can help officials keep better track of what constituents want. The deal reflects larger trends in gov tech.

Collectively, U.S. transportation services have cyber preparedness work to do, according to a recent study. Individually, they are hardening their postures; an Illinois state pilot offers locals consulting and training.

The village is the latest among law enforcement agencies in its state to adopt a records management and dispatch system to let officers spend more time in the field and stay connected with neighboring agencies.

A cyber attack that struck the county April 28 impacted several systems around real estate, deeds, tax processing and land transactions. Several of these remain offline more than a month afterward.

Micromobility offerings in Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., will soon include electric cargo bikes capable of transporting up to 100 pounds. More device types and expanded infrastructure are intended to drive usage.

After nearly a month as interim technology leader for the state’s capital city, Borchardt was announced Thursday as the permanent successor for W. Schad Meldrum, who retired last month. Like his predecessor, he is a veteran executive.

The city’s police chief has asked that officials approve the purchase of new cameras that would record vehicle license plate numbers on major corridors in city limits. A data sharing policy is in the works.

Local government should center its decisions on people’s needs, the city’s newly arrived CIO said. This means hearing from residents and staff alike, and doing more with the information at hand.

Bergen County, part of the New York City metro area, has hired Balcony to bring blockchain to property records management. The move stands as the latest public-sector use of the decentralized digital ledger.