GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Managing customer relationships
By: Duncan McClain
As local governments begin using more high-tech tools to conduct business, they run the risk of losing touch with the residents they serve. Instead of...
City's computer system handles Web, phone, fax requests
While most local governments use personal computers as the main tool for delivering electronic government services, Denton, Texas, has expanded its definition...
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Locking down on computer security
By: Barry Smith
Gaithersburg, Md., learned the importance of managing a comprehensive security program following two significant computer security breaches in June. Those...
South Carolina cities receive online services discounts
By: American City & County
The Columbia, S.C.-based Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) and locally based VC3 have partnered to provide affordable online services software...
County manages floodplains with updated photos
By: Tom LaMarche
Until recently, Maricopa County, Ariz., used semirectified aerial photography in a GIS to help manage floodplains. However, the photographs lacked positional...
City's GIS team helps track growth, gather data
The Santa Clarita, Calif., Planning, Building and Safety Department formed a four-member GIS team in 1999 to help manage development data in the city....
Choosing an IT consultant
By: Lindsay Isaacs, Associate Editor
In 1972, Vancouver and Clark County, Wash., set up a joint agency to coordinate IT services for their governments. But by 1998, both the city and the...
Citywide GIS will warn of distressed properties
By: Beth Wade
Minneapolis is creating a citywide GIS database that will provide mapping information to city departments, residents and neighborhood associations. When...
Network attached storage saves files and money
The Contra Costa County (Calif.) clerk-recorder's office has begun using network attached storage (NAS) instead of a server to maintain the county's public...
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Training employees to use ERP systems
By: Tom Ferrando
While some technologies merely automate business processes, others redesign the processes to make them more efficient. When local governments decide to...
Online service helps county manage bids
Like many local government employees, the purchasing agent in Taney County, Mo., juggles several projects. Along with the county's purchases, Tressa Luttrell...
Cooperating to solve spectrum interference
By: Lyle Gallagher
Last winter, the Washington County (Ore.) Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA) began experiencing interference with its radio system, putting officers...
Laptops become standard equipment for police
The Miami Police Department (MPD) has installed wireless networked laptops in hundreds of its cars. The system helps keep officers in the field for as...
Mapping benefits grow with data integration
Integrating data from local public works departments into a single networked database elevates efficiency for municipal planning and strategic asset management....
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Tapping Web power in emergencies
By: Rona Zevin
Cities need to coordinate and control information very closely. Like most communities, Seattle has a disaster response plan that is updated and revised...
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Protecting computers from malicious code
By: Robert Clyde
When local government employees and officials browse the Internet, they face the risk of intercepting malicious computer code or viruses that can damage...
MAPPING/Software helps utility track miles of water pipe
Cincinnati Water Works (CWW) is in high demand. Warren, Butler and Clermont counties have clamored to use the utility's water, which is cleaned using...
City uses technology to track buses, emergency vehicles
In April, Glendale, Calif., launched a project for the city's buses and emergency vehicles that combines automatic vehicle location (AVL), transit signal...
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Converting applications for wireless access
By: Todres Yampel and Steve Eskenazi
Employees do not have to learn programming to create screens. New wireless government applications are beginning to arrive on the market just as hand-held...
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Policies and education solve e-mail woes
By: Dale Bowen and Bryan Gold
Computer policies should clearly identify appropriate e-mail use. In light of recent reports about e-mail misuse by local government officials and employees,...
Locals recognized for technology programs
Eleven local governments were recognized for their innovative use of technology in the 2000 Solutions Awards program, sponsored by Washington, D.C.-based...
GIS helps make co-op more efficient
By: AMERICAN CITY & COUNTY STAFF
The White River Electric Cooperative serves more than 38,000 customers in the Missouri counties of Taney, Christian, Stone, Douglas and Ozark. Population...
Key strategies in Web site promotion
By: Joe Dysart
Internet marketing consultants warn that, without proper marketing and promotion, Web sites can quickly become ineffective. The truth is that Web site...
City uses the Web to find investment bids
By: AMERICAN CITY & COUNTY STAFF
Goldsboro, N.C., has been using an online service to get bids on financial services and investments. The service has saved staff time and has allowed...
GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY/Striking a balance takes cooperation
By: Todd Sander
Just when information technology is at its most popular, CIOs finally have to admit they do not have the resources to make good on all the promises they...
