Local Government

Results for America has recognized nine municipalities for using data to inform policy and improve government service delivery to residents. To date, 83 cities have received the What Works Cities Certification.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council approved a record-setting $532.9 million spending plan with funds for 25 new positions. The budget also includes money for 25 license plate cameras.

The economic development corporation in the county has worked with county GIS, an area planning board and the state to push out high-speed Internet to roughly 4 percent of households without it.

Roughly a day after a ransomware attack hit Grand Traverse County systems, essential services were fully operational, city and county officials said. County government phone systems, however, were among those still not working normally.

The county, southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul, will use $1 million of the $2.5 million in federal funding to expand broadband access countywide. Among other work, its Sheriff’s Office will get $500,000 for records management.

Shuttered Monday and Tuesday while officials probed what had first been described as a “cyber incident,” the Ohio city hall was poised for a restart Wednesday. The threat remains under investigation.

The Center for Internet Security’s Cybersecurity Advisory Services Program is aimed at helping strengthen organizations that are involved in elections, health care, education and water utilities.

City Hall and the Ohio city’s offices at Erieview Tower were closed for a second day on Tuesday, but officials have released few details on what may have occurred. The incident came to light via normal operations of city IT, a spokeswoman said.

Last week’s park rules changes by the Metropolitan King County Council allowed electric bikes and scooters on its trail network. The new rules are something of a standardization with the state, Seattle, and other counties.

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.