Local Government

Hawaii’s capital city is using CivCheck’s platform to review applications and speed up the permitting process. Bellevue, Wash., also uses AI permitting process tools, and Louisville, Ky., will soon pilot them.

The City Council signed off on directing roughly $360,000 in state funds to the police department. Of that, more than $43,000 is earmarked for software that will let police “obtain and retain” digital evidence.

County commissioners will consider spending more than $3.2 million over 10 years to replace body-worn and in-car sheriff’s office cameras. Software, data storage and accessories would be included.

Rizwan Ahmed, who served as Louisiana’s CIO from 2006 to 2008, is the city-parish’s new information services director, bringing years of state-level IT experience to the role.

Mississippi has announced a new AI data center build that promises tax revenue and job creation. Such gains are not always easy to quantify, but policymakers can push developers to deliver.

Archie Satchell, the Florida county’s CIO of more than seven years, will retire Jan. 16. Deputy CIO Michael Butler, whose time with county IT dates to the mid-1990s, has taken on the role of acting CIO.

The newest Transit Tech Lab competition focuses on such areas as data modernization, infrastructure management and workflows. Finalists have a chance to work with city officials and enter procurement.

The county sheriff’s office has identified a “person of interest” as it investigates the incident, which led to an initial loss of $3.3 million. A payment of $1.2 million has been “recovered and restored.”

The state’s new Infrastructure Planning and Development Division has adopted cloud technology to help community governments navigate matching requirements, compliance and project delivery.

The largest city in Kentucky recently hired a public-sector AI leader, and marked the first AI pilot for the local government. Louisville, in need of affordable housing, wants to build AI leadership.

Stephen Heard, now the county’s permanent CIO, is a veteran technologist whose time with the local government dates to April 2007. Prior to becoming interim CIO, he was chief technology officer for five years.

The county executive said he has directed staff to “begin the process to pass a local law” barring collection of such data. If passed, the county would likely be in the vanguard on biometric data oversight.

The City Council is set to consider financial support for OnLight Aurora, a city-connected organization established to manage Aurora’s fiber network, amid ongoing budgetary issues at the organization.

A resignation letter from the city’s chief technology officer of four years surfaced on social media alongside changes to the city’s website, where his name was removed and a new acting CTO named.

A situation in Twiggs County, Ga., highlights the different approaches local governments in Georgia are taking to manage a surge in data center proposals with little guidance or regulation at the state level.

More than 200 Wisconsin law enforcement agencies use license plate reading technology. The state’s capital city, however, has so far not installed such cameras even as its neighbors have done so.

Heidi Norman, who has served as permanent CIO of Pittsburgh since 2022, and in other roles with the city since 2017, has departed at the request of the city’s incoming mayoral administration.

Two data center developers are eyeing undeveloped land in Foristell, Mo., a growing city along Interstate 70 that straddles the St. Charles County and Warren County border, officials said.