Posts Tagged: city

One Night in Santa Cruz: Nonexistent Political Compromise

It’s a Tuesday night and it’s sprinkling outside, much to my dismay, as I head over to City Hall to witness what is expected to be a long and onerous council meeting. As I near the chambers it becomes obvious that a large swath of people have already begun to pour out onto the patioRead… Read more »

Who’d be on your Open Government team?

Like Samuel L. Jackson, I’m putting together an elite team of superheroes… an OpenGov team! This will be an internal team at the City of Reno, made up of existing staff. The team’s mission would be to identify and implement opportunities to share data & information, as well as develop policies and procedures related toRead… Read more »

Bring Code for America to Your Town in 2013!

Code for America’s Fellowship Program Join us for a Webinar on December 13 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/483299846 In Code for America’s first year we built more than 40 civic applications to help government provide services more openly and efficiently, and better engage with their constituents. But more importantly CodeRead… Read more »

Seeking Local Government Acroynms

Your help is requested. During my extensive time in local government we used a variety of acroynms . Acroynms that would help us briefly describe the issue before us. Below is a list of the some of the acroynms I frequently used. If you have any, or know of any, acryonms used in local governmentsRead… Read more »

The Main Problem with Transparency In Government

A city council decided to adopt a “get tough on drunk drivers” and passed a resolution authorizing the Police Chief to hire a new part-time officer. The local media reported that the sole pupose of this new position within the police department was to crack down on drunk drivers on Friday and Saturday nights. WhenRead… Read more »

GovBytes: Can Cities Survive Without CIOs?

A report in GovTech stated that most cities operate without CIOs. With the increase of technology policy being used in government, this is a bit surprising. Instead, cities rely on IT managers, systems administrators, and city managers to create and implement these types of programs. Why do cities not have CIOs? The reasons vary. SomeRead… Read more »

Are you a City/County Manager? Follow ICMA Conference Highlights!

Whether you are attending the ICMA conference or not, we want to make sure you have access to the vital tech-related information being covered at this event for City/County Managers all over the globe. Today, Granicus revealed this ICMA News Portal to keep you connected. Check out our schedule and get involved in the discussionRead… Read more »

Local Gov Interview: Andy Maxwell, Director of Planning & Sustainability in Syracuse, NY

I love learning about different roles in local government. I was lucky enough to interview Andy Maxwell, the Director of Planning & Sustainability in the City of Syracuse, New York. This interview was especially interesting to me since I spent the past year completing my MPA program at Syracuse. It was fun to hear someRead… Read more »

Santa Cruz Assistant to the City Manager Interview

As a recently graduated MPA student (July 1 graduation– check it out here!), I’m trying to learn as much as I possibly can about government. This post is the first of a series of interviews with outstanding state and local government employees across the country. I find people incredibly fascinating and I love learning aboutRead… Read more »