Local Government

As Merced County, Calif., embarks on a multiple-year digital transformation journey to better serve constituents, evolving the permitting process involves the unification of previously siloed systems.

The city of Sacramento, Calif., has appointed its newest CIO from inside the Information Technology Department. Darin Arcolino succeeds Maria MacGunigal, who retired this month after nearly 10 years as CIO.

Across the city of San Francisco government, teams are working in collaborative ways to improve accessibility to government services and resources to better support people with disabilities.

According to the draft policy under consideration, the goal is to have a cohesive online presence through municipal, departmental and committee social media sites, with the municipal website as the primary online presence.

The pullback of Twitter’s blue check marks led to the quick rise of fake accounts spreading lies about public services and officials. What comes next, and how can state and local governments deal with this new reality?

Crawford County commissioners are expected to ratify a contract to expand broadband service to 2,000 homes in the next three years. The county has committed $3 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to the project.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $31 million in funding to bring broadband infrastructure to Sheridan, Newcastle, Loomis, North and South Auburn, Meadow Vista and a neighborhood in Granite Bay.

There are expected to be as many as 850 electric scooters and bikes on Syracuse roads this summer — more than double the 400 or so in circulation last year. The fleet could grow to as many as 1,000 depending on demand.

The Lake County Board of Elections is considering whether to implement poll worker management software they purchased or break the contract with the software provider amid security concerns.

Online bike registries are partnering with law enforcement to help police recover stolen bikes — not only traditional cycles but e-bikes as well. How do the programs work, and what is energizing them?

The nonprofit has extended its deadline for submissions for challenges in five local governments in North Carolina, Michigan, Nevada, Illinois and South Carolina — including some paid opportunities.

The winners of Government Technology's Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers awards for 2023 are a group of IT and other professionals pushing the limits of what it means to do the people's business.

Officials in Spokane County, Wash., are considering changes to email retention policies as a means of saving money on storage costs. The county pays about $52,000 a year to save well over 10 terabytes of emails.

Election workers have begun conducting logic and accuracy testing to ensure the machines voters will use on election day are running properly before they are put into service May 16.

Cowlitz County has tightened its cybersecurity and payment policies after two losses of public funds, including $184,000 later recovered from a phishing scheme. The 2021 and 2022 incidents were reviewed in the county's annual accountability audit.

Information security veteran Bryce Carter says he will work with the IT department to evaluate Arlington’s security risks and needs and focus on creating an enterprise-wide security program.

As programs funded by the American Rescue Plan Act come to a close, several local governments share how the funding — and the technology that helped them distribute it — helped people in their communities.

Officials with the Douglas County Public Utility District are collecting input on proposed changes to the energy rate structure for cryptomining operations and low-tier data centers.