Local Government

The 52 top jurisdictions in this year's Digital Counties Survey from the Center for Digital Government are using new strategies for cybersecurity, workforce and digital services to move toward the future.

The city of Rochester, N.Y., Mayor Malik D. Evans named several new appointments in an announcement last week, including a chief technology officer, chief of the Rochester Police Department and more.

Officials in the town are weighing the benefits of a fiber-optic network that would supply all residents and businesses with access to high-speed Internet. Residents will be surveyed to gauge their current service levels.

The city of Paterson, N.J., has partnered with Quickbase to expand a technology solution that will help those suffering with opioid addiction get access to medication-assisted treatment when and where they need it.

The Petaluma Fire Department and the Sonoma Valley Fire District are turning to a new software application and iPads to better manage life-saving resources and personnel in chaos created by a fire.

The Frederick County, Md., Police Department has launched a new online reporting system that allows residents to file non-violent, non-emergency reports from their smartphone or computer.

Yuba County officials have partnered with SiFi Networks to bring a new fiber-optics network to the rural towns of Linda, Olivehurst and Plumas Lake. The project is expected to decrease Internet costs.

Purchasing cyber defenses, training and insurance are budgeting decisions — and financial officers need number-driven risk models that show them how far each investment may go toward reducing risks of financial losses from cyber incidents.

The city of Terrell Hills, Texas, has a new smartphone app that allows residents to find information about city services while also serving as an alert system for emergency events and other important service changes.

The newly updated website was paid for through federal pandemic relief funds granted to the town in 2021, which can be used for investments in upgrading technology infrastructure resources.

The fresh capital from Peterson Private Equity will fund product and market growth. It comes as more local and state governments, as well as schools, turn to digital accounting and billing tools.

The system, known as FUSUS, integrates a range of city-owned and civilian video sources into a central, cloud database. The feeds can be accessed by officers on their in-unit computers and via an app on their smartphones.

Miguel Gamiño Jr. has been named chief experience officer and founding partner at Silicon Valley-based Simplicity Technology Inc. The company offers a platform aimed at better connecting government with its constituents.

Public meetings have changed since the pandemic, with some agencies going back to in-person participation while others opt for hybrid situations. The new technology is designed to meet those needs and provide more automation.

Google Public Sector, a new subsidiary, will focus on governments that want to build better digital tools and processes and replace legacy systems. Amazon and Google increasingly are vying for public-sector clients.

Bellingham and Whatcom County libraries are responding to a potential malware incident that crippled digital services. County officials report that patron data does not appear to have been compromised in the attack.

Aging parking meters — 587 of them, to be exact — throughout the city have officials considering a more modern solution. One possibility is replacing them with central, credit card-friendly machines on each block.

The Indiana Office of Technology is offering a variety of services to help localities modernize and secure their web services, bridging a skills and resource gap that often hampers such efforts at the local level.