Links to selected items focusing on government operations posted on the Internet during the week ending September 27, 2024

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the item posted on the Internet  

5G for the Public Sector: The Future of Connectivity The public sector faces unique connectivity challenges. This white paper explores how 5G can transform government and education, enabling remote work, bridging the digital divide, and supporting smart infrastructure. Discover how 5G's speed, security, and flexibility can empower agencies to deliver better services and improve efficiency. DOWNLOAD

911 Tech Firm Prepared Raises $27M as It Pushes AI As emergency dispatch centers transition to the mobile age, massive venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is betting that Prepared can help lead the public safety pack. The company’s CEO talks more about his new funding round. READ MORE

A National Leader in Public Sector Tech Moves to a New City Rob Lloyd has been widely recognized for his work upgrading IT systems in one tech capital, San Jose. He’s starting to do the same in Seattle. READ MORE

Accelerating the Public Sector's Zero Trust Journey In today's evolving security landscape, adopting a Zero Trust model is critical for protecting sensitive data and ensuring secure access. This eBook provides a comprehensive roadmap for building a Zero Trust architecture, offering key principles, real-world use cases, and practical steps for implementation to enhance security and business agility. DOWNLOAD

After Decades, a County’s Budget Gets Back on Track Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley convinced the legislature to allow localities to raise taxes. That helped his county address longstanding pension debt. READ MORE

AI Can Help Schools Quickly Detect, Remediate Cyber Threats Artificial intelligence may help schools identify and resolve cybersecurity issues faster, as long as it's on a unified platform or has interoperability with other applications on the school's network. READ MORE

AI in Fraud Prevention and Identity Verification [CONTENT PROVIDED BY SOCURE] Learn common misconceptions about AI and bias in identity verification. REGISTER NOW

AI Is in ‘Productivity Phase’ as CIOs Mull Environmental Impact At this stage of the hype cycle, artificial intelligence is demonstrating real value to state IT organizations. Arizona CIO J.R. Sloan is optimistic that solutions to emerging concerns around escalating energy use are on the way. READ MORE

Austin, Texas, Deputy CIO Will Lead IT in Glendale, Ariz. Steven Martin, a longtime IT executive in the southwest, will join Glendale, Ariz., later this month as its CIO. He brings public- and private-sector leadership experience to the role, where he will set the city's tech strategy and provide ongoing program analysis. READ MORE

Beyond the Hype: AI's Impact on Public-Sector Agencies — ICYMI Chris Hein, Google’s director of customer engineering for public sector/SLED, reveals how AI is transforming government services and improving citizen experiences — and how they should think about AI success. READ MORE

Bridging the Data Gap: Insights from Five Key U.S. Bridges This eBook explores how data-driven insights from commercial freight can enhance bridge resilience across the U.S. It covers real-world analyses of five major bridges and the impact of potential disruptions on transportation, safety, and economic flows. It also offers strategies for improving infrastructure reliability and minimizing disruptions. DOWNLOAD

Bringing Data to Bear on Public Health Outcomes The field of public health has been notoriously behind the times when it comes to data. Dr. Philip Huang has changed that in Dallas County, while helping other communities to modernize. READ MORE

Can CISOs Meet Expectations? As we head toward 2025, are the duties and goals of a chief information security officer achievable? Are CISOs set up for failure? Should position descriptions be changed? Let’s explore. READ MORE

Can Data Stop Death? Cook County, Ill.'s New Dashboard Aims to Try Cook County, Ill., has launched an innovative dashboard mapping certain deaths by cause — gun violence, opioids and extreme weather — to reveal hidden patterns and direct resources where they're most needed. READ MORE

Can the Illinois CIO Move Away from a Chargeback Model? At NASCIO, Illinois CIO Sanjay Gupta says he has won direct appropriations for tech from state officials. He wants to move away from the chargeback model eventually, which he says will result in better services. READ MORE

Checklist: Is Your Website Your Single Source of Truth? Local government websites should be resident engagement tools, not digital brochures or org charts. We use intuitive navigation, smart search, and more for optimal self-service.  GET MY CHECKLIST

Connecting Rural America, One Mile at a Time [CONTENT PROVIDED BY NCTA] “Every Last Mile” chronicles the untold story of connecting rural America, as broadband construction crews work tirelessly to bridge the digital divide. STREAM NOW

Could Suing Big Oil Help Governments Recover Damages from Extreme Climate Events? Dozens of jurisdictions are seeking damages from fossil fuel companies. Jeffrey B. Simon, an attorney representing Multnomah County, Ore., talks about the ways science and precedent will influence the success of their cases. READ MORE

Critical Infrastructure: How to Protect Water, Power and Space from Cyber Attacks Cyber threats to water systems, electrical grids and the space sector are on the rise, but new resources, policies and strategies could help. READ MORE

CrowdStrike Congressional Hearing Seeks Lessons Learned The cybersecurity company told members of Congress that the faulty content update that crashed machines worldwide was a “perfect storm” of things going wrong, and that it's revising how it pushes out updates. READ MORE

Department of Labor Taps AI to Support Inclusive Hiring With AI-powered recruitment tools increasingly used in hiring, the U.S. Department of Labor has announced the release of its own AI and Inclusive Hiring Framework to support inclusive hiring practices. READ MORE

Digital Transformation Success Stories [CONTENT PROVIDED BY CIVIC PLUS] Discover why CivicPlus® is trusted by local governments nationwide. Download our fact sheet to see what our #CPfamily says about partnering with us for their website redesign projects. DOWNLOAD NOW

From Combat to Courtroom: How Criminal Justice Fails Our Veterans Struggling with addiction, PTSD and other service-related traumas, far too many of them run afoul of the law. States could do more to help those at risk. READ MORE

From Data to Story: Building Digital Budget Books that Connect Discover how to create a budget book that is accessible, visually appealing, and professionally presented. READ MORE

Homeless People Have the Right to Vote — but Often Lack the Ability By one estimate, only 10 percent of homeless citizens end up casting votes. There are many steps states can take to lower barriers to participation. READ MORE

How a Fourth Generation Mayor Reshaped His Hometown G.T. Bynum has attracted the largest employers ever to land in Tulsa while dramatically expanding its parks. He’s also helped the city confront its racist past. READ MORE

How Governments Can Close Skill Gaps with Microcredentials State and local governments often have difficulty hiring workers with technical IT skills in areas like the cloud and cybersecurity due to high salary demands. One way to address this challenge is to develop the skills of existing government staff through microcredential programs. Read this thought leadership paper to learn more about how microcredentials offer agencies a more convenient way to upskill their staff! DOWNLOAD

How Lansing, Michigan Empowered Residents to Eliminate Over $13 Million in Debt As low-income residents struggled to make ends meet, Lansing piloted a financial empowerment program to help eliminate debt and increase savings. LEARN MORE

How Mississippi Plans to Attract Young Technology Talent State CIO Craig Orgeron said he believes many young tech professionals have the desire to do public service. At the NASCIO 2024 Annual Conference, he talked about seemingly small changes that might attract those workers. READ MORE

How Montana Is Tackling Tech Debt and Vendor Relations Major IT modernizations are underway, but strict budgets and rising software prices can mean a greater role for the CIO in vendor negotiations. At the NASCIO 2024 Annual Conference, Montana CIO Kevin Gilbertson discussed working with companies of varying sizes. READ MORE

How Philadelphia Helped Over 20,000 Immigrants Find Jobs and Start Businesses Immigration strengthened the local economy but employers still faced a “skills mismatch.” One program aims to close this gap by integrating immigrants into the workforce. LEARN MORE

How Public Procurement Should Be Prizing Our Entrepreneurs Too many contracts go to larger, more-established companies. But it’s younger, smaller businesses that often are better at leveraging new technologies and efficiencies. We need to avoid “vendor lock-in.” READ MORE

How the El Mirage Victim Assistance Unit uses the cloud to strengthen services This case study details how the El Mirage Police Department's Victim Assistance Unit in Arizona leverages the cloud to overcome challenges related to manual data entry, cumbersome reporting processes and strict compliance requirements. DOWNLOAD

How Wilmington uses data to drive positive community outcomes The case study details how the City of Wilmington, Delaware, uses data to enhance community collaboration and drive positive outcomes in crime prevention. DOWNLOAD

IT Must Support Digital Services, NASCIO's CIO Survey Says The organization's yearly State CIO Survey, released during its annual conference, documents perspectives on the growing role of AI and digital transformation in better serving constituents. State IT workforces, it indicates, are foundational to meeting rising demand for digital services. READ MORE

Kim Reynolds Has Reshaped Both Policy and the State Government in Iowa The Republican has rewritten the tax code, streamlined agencies and upended the state’s approach on issues ranging from abortion and education. READ MORE 

Longtime City Tech Leader Named CTO for Washington, D.C. Stephen Miller, who has served as Washington, D.C.'s acting chief technology officer since June, has been confirmed as permanent CTO. He has been with the city nearly two decades, including more than six years in the C-suite. READ MORE

Making Public Benefits More Convenient and Still Secure Re-examining password requirements and online workflows, as well as minimizing what data they ask from residents, can help smooth online processes while also maintaining security. READ MORE

Missouri Takes New Single Sign-On Citizen Portal Live The state hasn't broadly promoted the service yet, but Deputy CIO Paula Peters hopes one day residents across Missouri will also be able to access local government services through the platform. READ MORE

NASCIO President: Tackling Generative AI Takes a Team NASCIO President Jim Weaver questioned the need for chief AI officers, stressing instead that states would be better off deploying a team to manage their work with GenAI and its potential benefits. READ MORE

NASCIO President: Tackling Generative AI Takes a Team NASCIO President Jim Weaver questioned the need for chief AI officers, stressing instead that states would be better off deploying a team to manage their work with GenAI and its potential benefits. READ MORE

NASCIO Recognizes State IT and Cybersecurity Innovators On the final day of its 2024 Annual Conference, the organization recognized tech and cyber teams and leaders in more than a dozen states for their long-term contributions, and for success in specific initiatives. READ MORE

NASCIO: Third-Party Breaches, AI Top CISOs’ Threat Lists New privacy responsibilities, looming threats from GenAI and breached partners, and stubborn workforce and funding problems: here’s what CISOs are thinking about in 2024. READ MORE 

National Guard Responds to Helene as Devastation Continues More than 6,200 National Guard troops from a dozen states are responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which has left millions without power and at least 121 dead. READ MORE

Navigating the CJIS Security Policy Changes The FBI updated its Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy in July 2024 to address the ever-changing cyber threat landscape. Agencies using criminal justice data must adhere to the baseline security standards in the update, Version 5.9.5, for safe operation. The new document addresses evolving concerns in areas such as incident response, cloud security and multifactor authentication. DOWNLOAD

Philly’s Historic Ocean Liner to Become Artificial Reef The S.S. United States, which has been docked in South Philadelphia since the mid-1990s, will soon be retired and sunk into the Gulf of Mexico to act as the world’s largest artificial reef. READ MORE

Port Strike Reflects Anxieties About Automation in Labor Longshoremen are striking for better wages, but they also say they're fighting to protect jobs against automation. U.S. ports tend to be less automated than some large ports in other countries. READ MORE

Public Officials of the Year: A Special Note from Our Publisher Thirty years ago, Governing began honoring top state and local officials around the country. Here are the members of this year’s class. READ MORE

Reviving Deliberation: Thoughtful Policymaking in Divided Times As the nation nears its 250th anniversary, a longtime broadcast journalist and historian calls for addressing economic inequities, corporate monopolies and restoring effective governance to grow stronger. READ MORE

Rural States Get BEAD Funding at Higher Rates Than Urban Areas Per capita broadband infrastructure funding is highest in rural states, a new report finds, even though the digital divide exists in all areas. Reviews.org examines funding states are receiving from the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. READ MORE

Santa Fe Schools Embrace AI as ‘Thought Partner’ The Santa Fe School Board unveiled a plan that will provide teachers with artificial intelligence tools to help in the classroom, in some cases allowing students to use AI on assignments as a “co-pilot to enhance human creativity.” READ MORE

Secure Your Public Services with AI: Fact vs. Fiction in Identity Verification [CONTENT PROVIDED BY SOCURE] Hear from experts about using AI/ML to enhance fraud prevention in the public sector. REGISTER NOW

See How Submittable Secures Your Grantmaking Process Watch a short video demo of our cloud-based grant management system that boosts efficiency and secures your data from rising cyber threats. WATCH NOW

Self-Service, Automation Driving Public-Sector IT Innovation Learn how the convergence of self-service and automation in public-sector IT enhances efficiency for government agencies — streamlining access to services, freeing up resources and fostering innovation. READ MORE

Should State Governments Ban Ransomware Payments? Given the surge of ransomware attacks and increasing costs of payments to unlock stolen data in 2024, some states have banned public ransomware payments. But experts are divided on whether it's the right move. READ MORE

Taylor Swift Fandom Helps Simplify Student Assessment Tool By building a software package based on the music of Taylor Swift, researcher Jake Thompson laid the groundwork for a free tool that makes diagnostic classification models easier to use for student assessments. READ MORE

Tech Helps to Address Transit Challenges in New York The Transit Tech Lab in New York City completed the “proof-of-concept” phase of its sixth annual competition to align technology solutions with some of the needs of the area’s various transit agencies. READ MORE

Tech Supports Residents’ Recovery, Job Search in W.Va. Jobs and Hope West Virginia, a state program created to respond to the substance use disorder crisis, uses technology to support residents in their paths to recovery, sustainable employment and re-entering society. READ MORE

The Woman Who Helped Kick Off a School Choice Revolution West Virginia had no private school choice options at all before Patricia Rucker made vouchers universal. Nearly a dozen states have followed suit. READ MORE

Tips for Overcoming Public-Sector IT Modernization Challenges Public-sector IT departments embarking on modernization efforts can follow these tips to overcome common challenges like resource restraints and staffing issues. READ MORE

Tomorrow’s Cyber Talents Might Already Work In-House Filling cybersecurity and IT positions is, for many governments, a long-standing challenge. At NASCIO, Montana CIO Kevin Gilbertson explains his state’s successful strategy of hiring and training up applicants from other government agencies. READ MORE

Transportation Ballot Measures to Watch This November Voters will weigh in on at least 18 ballot measures raising taxes to pay for transportation improvements. Transportation infrastructure is becoming more expensive to build. READ MORE

Veritone Boosts Its Midwest Presence Via New Tech Deal Customers of Midwest Public Safety will now have access to products from Veritone. The public safety tech supplier sells digital evidence management and other tools powered by AI and used by some 3,500 clients. READ MORE

What Can Helene's ‘Biblical’ Flooding Teach Communities Outside the Southeast? Historic rainfall that devastated the Southeast was generated by conditions that still exist. What lessons can local governments in other parts of the country take from Helene? READ MORE

What Do Cities and Counties Get from Whole-of-State Cyber? With help from whole-of-state efforts and federal funding support, small and rural communities are getting a boost for their cyber defenses. Is it enough? READ MORE

What’s New in Digital Equity: Digital Inclusion Week 2024 Plus, the U.S. Senate passes new broadband legislation, more federal broadband funding proposals get approved, Seattle launches an interoperable multilingual application process for low-cost Internet, and more. READ MORE

What's on Ohio's Ambitious Modernization Agenda? The Ohio Office of Information Technology has plans to streamline the state’s IT infrastructure in a few key areas. CIO Katrina Flory outlines several current projects underway. READ MORE

Why Cybersecurity Should Be at the Heart of Digital Transformation for Government Grantmakers Protect sensitive data while streamlining grant management with a cloud-based system designed to enhance cybersecurity. READ MORE

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli releases local government and school audits

On October 4, 2024, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the following local government and school audits.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the item posted on the Internet

Merrick Union Free School District – Financial Management (Nassau County)

The board and district officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserves. Although the board and district officials reduced surplus fund balance from 19% as of June 30, 2015 to 8% as of June 30, 2023, they consistently appropriated fund balance that was not needed and overfunded reserves, primarily through transfers of surplus fund balance. These practices lack transparency, circumvent the statutory limit on surplus fund balance and result in taxpayers being taxed more than necessary. Specifically, the board and district officials overestimated appropriations by an annual average of $1.7 million (3.3%). They also consistently appropriated an average of $1.6 million of fund balance that was not needed and could not demonstrate that the unemployment insurance and repair reserves, with balances totaling $2.9 million, were reasonably funded.

 

Panama Central School District – Procurement (Chautauqua County)

The board and district officials did not always comply with the district’s procurement policies or state law which generally requires purchase contracts that exceed certain thresholds to be competitively bid. In addition, the claims auditor did not perform adequate audits. As a result, $1.1 million in purchases (half of the procurements reviewed) were made without competitive procurement methods. Therefore, the board, officials and the claims auditor did not help ensure that district funds were used to procure goods and services in a prudent and economical manner and in the best interests of taxpayers. Furthermore, certain district officials delegated their procurement responsibilities to other individuals and did not ensure they adhered to the procurement policies and state law. The claims auditor also relied on other district officials to perform her job responsibilities and did not ensure district officials complied with the procurement policies and state law.

 

Village of Catskill – Accounting Records and Reports (Greene County)

The clerk-treasurer did not maintain complete and accurate accounting records and did not provide timely, accurate or adequate reports to the board. As a result, the transparency of the village’s financial operations was reduced, and the risk that unauthorized or inappropriate transactions could occur and go undetected increased. The clerk-treasurer made accounting errors totaling over $2.2 million and did not reconcile bank balances to the general ledger cash balances. As a result, there is a greater risk that errors and/or irregularities could occur. The clerk-treasurer also did not properly account for three bank account balances totaling $1.1 million on May 31, 2023 in the accounting records or comply with state law, all requiring annual financial reports (AFRs) be filed with the Comptroller’s Office. Further, the village board did not annually audit the clerk-treasurer’s records, as required by law.

 

Town of Pittsfield – Supervisor’s Records and Reports (Otsego County)

The supervisor did not maintain complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting records and reports. The supervisor did not properly record revenues in the accounting system, prepare bank reconciliations or provide detailed monthly fund balances to the town board. In addition, the supervisor did not file the town’s 2021 or 2023 AFR as required by state law and the 2022 AFR was inaccurate. The supervisor also did not provide the board with records for the annual audit, as required. Had the accounting records been presented to the board and the board members fulfilled the annual audit requirement and provided adequate oversight of the town’s financial operations, the accounting and reporting deficiencies may have been identified and corrected.

 

Cayuga County – Court and Trust Funds

Pursuant to a court order, certain assets may be provided to the court and then delivered to the county treasurer for safekeeping. Together, the treasurer, county clerk and surrogate’s court must develop sound procedures and processes which, when implemented properly and consistently, provide a system of internal controls to account for and safeguard these funds. Auditors found there was no reconciliation performed between the treasurer’s, county clerk’s and surrogate’s court’s records and three cases totaling $175,940 were excluded from the annual report. In addition, the court and trust register did not include two court and trust actions identified in the treasurer’s records.

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