1st Marietta, Ga.
Critical infrastructure’s cyber risks are increasingly in the spotlight, and Marietta has doubled down on defending its utilities. The city adopted a machine learning-powered cybersecurity tool to detect, respond to and mitigate threats to supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) networks in real time. Marietta also took measures to make communications between Marietta Power and Water and its data center more resilient, such as by enabling failover to another data center in a different location.
Marietta also partnered with a local university to develop cybersecurity technology intended to better protect electrical utilities’ power system controllers from malicious software updates. The technology also helps utilities inventory their substation devices’ software. So far, the technology has been tested on one municipal power system substation.
Other partnerships with local higher ed help universities align their technology curricula with the public sector’s needs and give students opportunities to get real-world experience helping on government IT projects. To boost employee satisfaction, the city has tested a 10-hour per day, four-day workweek, as well as flexible schedules. Efforts to improve resident experience include an updated citizen services mobile app and an improved Marietta Power app, allowing residents to better report and track power outages.
2nd Tinley Park, Ill.
Tinley Park, a Chicago suburb, is taking to the air – a foreshadowing, perhaps, of what other U.S. cities might do in the coming years as drone technology improves and spreads. The city started using drones for fire department work, but Tinley Park has doubled its drone fleet to 15 and now has more than 30 authorized and licensed drone operators. Firefighters still use the devices but so do police and public works, with officials settling on DroneSense drone management software. Using common software provides a number of benefits: a common piloting experience no matter the drone’s make or model, for instance, along with flight path logs and the ability to share drone video footage in real time with various city employees. Police and fire drone use also includes mutual-aid integrations with other nearby towns – another reflection of one of the main tech trends in public safety.
That’s not all the city is doing to improve public safety. An integration with Flock Safety has boosted Tinley Park’s abilities in license plate recognition – data is displayed on a single map-based display – part of a larger effort that involves the creation of a real-time, cloud-based crime center.
3rd Punta Gorda, Fla.
Coming in third place in the up to 75,000 population category is Punta Gorda, Fla., approximately 100 miles south of Tampa. The city’s technology vision primarily focuses on improving systems, constituent services and processes; procuring mainstream hardware and software; and increasing physical and cybersecurity.
The city started moving more constituent services online after Hurricane Ian impacted the city over two years ago. Before that, residents, who are primarily retirees, preferred in-person services. The following resources are now offered online: utility bill payments, tax receipt payments, permit requests, city documents and more.
Other areas that saw significant developments were emerging technologies and data governance. The city has re-evaluated its analytics strategy to prepare for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and the increased demand for quick and extensive data access. Based on this re-evaluation, the city plans to add AI and enterprise architecture tools to its budget in the next fiscal year and is currently in the process of writing an AI policy to set guardrails for the technology. The first draft of the policy is expected to be completed before the end of the fiscal year.
Lastly, the city has focused on increasing resilience after facing the pandemic and two hurricanes. Punta Gorda has developed remote work policies, relocated staff to temporary workspaces, addressed security concerns and reinforced its network. The city is also developing a direct connection from its data center to its Azure Government Cloud to enable rapid data transfers. Doing so will significantly decrease the time it takes to relocate virtualized servers and storage to the cloud in the event of a major disaster.
4th Williamsburg, Va.
Rising from sixth place last year, this city of around 16,000 ranks innovative solutions to constituent issues most highly among its IT priorities. This year, officials hired Williamsburg’s first data analyst and stood up its first data governance program. Moving off third-party tools to develop its own public-facing dashboards and metrics – using data already available – has enabled real-time updates and is saving thousands of dollars annually.
The performance management program was migrated in-house using existing tools like Power BI, ensuring data and key performance indicators are as up to date as possible; and doing the same with real estate assessment has reduced questions from the public. Cybersecurity remains a high priority, and leaders did a business impact analysis to identify systems and services that are critical to facilitating future recovery. The city is building out a zero-trust strategy and has implemented Rubrik across the organization.
Elsewhere across the enterprise, officials modernized public safety buildings, including standing up a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center in a new fire station, with intelligent notification systems. The city has made itself more competitive with the private sector by enhancing benefits and expanding telework. Leaders also did a major upgrade to its enterprise resource planning system, cutting processing times and easing resident interactions; and wrapped a full rip-and-replace of network infrastructure. This improved speed and security, facilitating movement of much more data and making configuration changes easier. Williamsburg also recruited a new Internet service provider to the city, driving down costs for itself as well as residents.
5th Danville, Va.
The city of Danville, which hugs the border between Virginia and North Carolina, has undergone several notable IT projects in the past year as well as economic growth, including the ongoing construction of a casino and 320-room hotel. To assist with housing strain as the city grows, IT staff launched a housing navigator to collect and market information about housing. It also supported a citywide planning effort with the creation of the PLANDanville website to give residents multiple ways to engage in the planning process — with 13,000 unique website visitors so far. Another citizen-facing tech project is the implementation of a new online budget book, which allows users to digitally search and explore the entire budget as well as how it will impact city services.
Behind the scenes, IT staff moved from an antiquated data center to a new location in an unused municipal bomb shelter, where new equipment has reduced power consumption while allowing for better visibility, modernized virtualization environments, an updated disaster recovery site and a new system status dashboard. Upgrades to Danville — which the city touts as the first municipally owned, open-access, open-services network in the U.S. — have improved a network that serves both the city and community with accessible and affordable broadband Internet, while setting the stage for a forthcoming move to cloud-based unified communications. Other achievements include migrating from an on-premises help desk solution to SaaS service desk with AI assistance, moving to a new mobile device management solution with a broader capacity for controlling access to city applications, and several data dashboard-focused projects, including the setup of a web-based version of a financial system application that used to be desktop-based.
5th El Segundo, Calif.
El Segundo, Calif., a beachside city near San Diego with just under 17,000 residents, earned recognition this year for its partnership with OpenGov, a cloud software company. The city government partnered with OpenGov to create the E-Z Permit Hub, a one-stop shop for submitting building permits. The hub reduced the permit review cycle timeline from an average of 16.5 days to 8.7 days and the time spent on issuing permits from an average of 26.5 days to 11.4 days. Success with the building permit platform inspired El Segundo to expand the OpenGov partnership to streamline processes for other permits, including special events, temporary use and filming.
Outside of permitting, the city has automated some library services, updated critical IT infrastructure for the police department and improved cybersecurity measures like firewalls and cloud-based security systems. In the future, the city aims to introduce a digital 311 platform. Residents currently use a tool called ReportIT to report issues such as abandoned vehicles, graffiti, potholes and illegal dumping. Residents say the ReportIT interface can be cumbersome and lacks real-time updates. The planned digital 311 platform will improve on these areas with the goal of improving civic engagement and government transparency overall.
6th Normal, Ill.
Normal, Ill., took sixth place for cities with populations up to 75,000, with a list of projects that includes prioritizing economic development, bolstering public safety and improving accessible services. Normal’s IT department also crafted a cohesive Smart City Roadmap that is aligned with the city’s long-term strategic plan, which seeks to address issues like homelessness, staff shortages and federal policy constraints. Guided by this plan, IT teamed up with Normal’s Administration and Finance departments to introduce license plate recognition technology in town garages and enforcement vehicles, making parking smarter in the city.
Network segmentation updates in the security arena have been crucial for the city as well, including new firewalls for cross-site and cross-department data encryption. Normal's open data initiatives and GIS-based Community Investment Plan have also created a model of modern governance and community-focused innovation. Finally, the city has embraced digital engagement through tools such as the Normal Now newsletter and Zencity, in addition to upgrading older IT infrastructure it needs to expand public service access.
7th Lake Havasu, Ariz.
Lake Havasu City, Ariz., ranked seventh place in its population category, garnering the recognition in large part due to its behind-the-scenes work in transitioning to the cloud.
The city has been working to implement Oracle Fusion Cloud, finalizing a major project to move its legacy databases to as-a-service technologies. Secure data in the cloud supports the city’s ability to maintain services in the case of a disaster. It also improves the city’s cybersecurity posture. The city’s plan is to continue transitioning services to the cloud where possible over the coming years for increased efficiency.
Another notable project resulted from de-consolidating its courts from the county. The city purchased a facility where it built a courthouse and community room. The courthouse hosts all City Council meetings, leveraging interactive technologies to improve digital engagement.
Lake Havasu City is continuing its digital government transformation using digital marketing, social media and a city smartphone app. The city is also delving into artificial intelligence governance and use, including an AI-powered video analytics tool.
8th Delray Beach, Fla.
For Delray Beach, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) has been top of mind this year, resulting in various projects utilizing the technology. One notable example sees the city using AI to augment its cybersecurity infrastructure. More specifically, this includes using the tech to safeguard its cybersecurity systems, which help triage cyber-related issues and ensure that city business continues to operate as usual. Other notable uses of AI include the Delray Beach Police Department incorporating it into its Real-Time Crime Center, which aims to provide real-time monitoring and rapid response to criminal activities by allowing the department to maximize its current workforce without hiring additional staff members. Also in the works is using AI to create scripts for IT system administrator activities as well as to assist with data conversion and migration efforts.
Outside of AI, the city is focusing on enhancing its overall IT infrastructure by adopting data storage and virtualization technologies. One example of this is transitioning from traditional tape backups to ExaGrid’s advanced disk-based storage, offering dual-system support with local backups and mirrored data to a secure off-site co-location. By switching to ExaGrid, the city aims to ensure that it can rapidly back up and recover data, reducing downtime and increasing data integrity. Other efforts to enhance the city’s IT infrastructure include phasing out physical stand-alone servers in place of virtual servers, revamping its VPN systems to facilitate secure remote access citywide, and working with Florida LambdaRail, the state’s independent statewide research and education fiber-optic network, to provide robust and high-speed Internet that supports the city’s data-intensive applications and overall operations.
9th Kalamazoo, Mich.
Kalamazoo continues to see technology as a useful tool to improve life for its residents and employees. The city is a partner in the GovAI Coalition, which it plans to lean on as it looks to establish a policy and framework for responsible use of AI. Kalamazoo is also currently investigating the implementation of an AI powered chatbot within its 311 system to better serve residents. Also in the interest of improving services for residents, the city is installing free Wi-Fi in six of its public parks. And the signal will be strong enough for the immediate surrounding residential areas to be able to connect.
Kalamazoo is also leveraging its Esri portal to create publicly available dashboards, as well as SharePoint for internal dashboards. And in the last two years, a partnership with Fusus has given the Public Safety Department access to video cameras citywide, allowing crimes to be resolved more quickly. This includes city-owned cameras as well as those owned by businesses and residents who have voluntarily granted access. Those residents and businesses who choose to participate can control when Public Safety has access to their cameras.
In the interest of improving cybersecurity, Kalamazoo has documented a three-year road map to fully implement a zero-trust framework. In developing this plan, the city found that many other security initiatives were required as part of the journey to zero trust. This includes initiatives the city recently implemented like expanding its security awareness training and multifactor authentication rollout.
9th Tamarac, Fla.
Tamarac takes pride in leveraging technology to enhance the efficient delivery of city services, and this commitment was evident this year through innovative outreach methods, including the implementation of an omnichannel call center solution powered by Amazon. In 2024, Tamarac also improved its services by integrating artificial intelligence into its business processes. One example of this is through using Amazon Bedrock in its new omnichannel call center solution, through which the city provides customers with 24/7 access to information and services. Collaborations with partners like Amazon Alexa and internal employee engagement software also highlight the city’s commitment to digitizing government operations.
This year, the city has also launched Tamarac TV, Tamarac Radio, mobile apps, SeeClickFix and smart home Alexa skills. These initiatives have streamlined processes, boosted efficiency and provided citizens with convenient ways to access information and communicate with the city. Additionally, Tamarac has prioritized projects focused on effectiveness and safety, including cybersecurity enhancements, weather-related warning systems and network improvements. Overall, the city effectively managed partnerships and maximized the benefits of expertise from external firms.
10th Newark, Calif.
The city of Newark, Calif., secured a 10th place spot in this year’s Digital Cities Survey for its use of technology in service of the public. One of the highlights this year has been the city's TextMyGov application, which allows residents to interact with their government and the services it offers via their smartphones. Over the past year, the solution has boosted strong response times and resident satisfaction, with officials reporting thousands of users each month.
Where cybersecurity is concerned, Newark has taken an aggressive approach to securing its systems, including an advanced identity protection solution, 24/7 threat monitoring, specialized email security tools, zero-trust and multifactor authentication and more. The city has also taken proactive steps to ensure that its underserved residents have access to high-speed Internet. A new broadband master plan is set to be approved by the City Council. These efforts are supported by a dig-once policy, which should bolster high-speed Internet infrastructure there.
