Selected links to items focusing on government operations posted on the Internet during the week ending December 15, 2023

2023 Cyber Review: The Year GenAI Stole the Show This was a year unlike any other in the brief history of the cybersecurity industry, with generative artificial intelligence disrupting plans and ushering in unparalleled change to security. READ MORE

 

3 Months After Cash Bail Ended, County Jail Population Declines Effingham County, Ill., has seen a decrease in the number of inmates and a reduction in caseloads just three months after the state ended cash bail. However, the long-term impacts of the end of cash bail remains to be seen. READ MORE

 

A Union-Backed Bill Would Tackle New York Workplace Bullying Proposed legislation that has garnered support from a public employees union would provide greater protection to state workers who file complaints of bullying, which is mostly not illegal in the state. READ MORE

 

After Major Progress in 2023, Digital Equity Looks Ahead

 

AI Is Coming Soon for Governments’ Information. What’s It Worth? States and localities may have hidden treasure in their data that can be profitably unearthed by commercial interests. Governments need to be able to realize the value of their data while still protecting the public. READ MORE

 

Airport Screening of the Future It may be just around the calendar. READ MORE

 

An Eye for Equity and Emerging Tech, CIO James Weaver Charts a Course With an election that promises to usher in a new administration for North Carolina, CIO James Weaver is focusing his energy on improving the foundations of state IT while also embracing new — and unstoppable — technologies. READ MORE

 

Annual NASCIO Survey Highlights Dramatic Shifts in IT Priorities
For the first time since 2007, NASCIO’s annual survey of state IT leaders was tied between two top priorities. That spot, normally dominated by cybersecurity and risk management, was joined this year by digital government and services. READ MORE

 

California Considers Everything, Even Fiscal Emergency, for Budget Gap Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators this year made budget cuts and deferred spending as a way to address the $31.5 billion spending gap. But, as tax revenues were delayed by winter storms, the gap has grown to $68 billion. READ MORE

 

California Considers Everything, Even Fiscal Emergency, for Budget Gap Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators this year made budget cuts and deferred spending as a way to address the $31.5 billion spending gap. But, as tax revenues were delayed by winter storms, the gap has grown to $68 billion. READ MORE

 

Can your Android phone share your medical data with 911? READ MORE

 

City Halls Should Be the Souls and Hearts of Their Communities Government centers can be more than simply places where official business is conducted. They can be places for residents to meet, interact and celebrate each other. READ MORE

 

Colorado Legislators Work to Improve State’s Mental Illness Care A group of state lawmakers, advocates and parents are working to change a Medicaid rule that limits psychiatric hospital stays to 15 days a month, but the change would need $7.2 million annually and federal approval. READ MORE

 

Colorado OIT Seeks to Fill Two Executive-Level Tech Roles The Colorado Office of Information Technology is officially looking to hire for two executive-level IT roles: deputy executive director and chief information security officer. READ MORE

 

Crooks Can’t Dodge the Real-Time Crime Center ‘Double Click’ “When a call happens today, we can listen in immediately. We’re hearing the person calling in saying, ‘Hey, there’s a shooting.’ And that [information] hasn’t even popped on our dispatcher’s screen yet.” READ MORE

 

Cybersecurity Funded, Now What? Indiana’s CIO Shares 2024 Plan For Indiana CIO Tracy Barnes, elevating cybersecurity, creating IT leadership training, enacting AI policy and laying the framework for a statewide digital ID program will take center stage in 2024. READ MORE

 

Cybersecurity Trends Point to More Sophisticated Attacks Ahead As ransomware attacks have continued to hit state and local organizations — and tech advancements like generative AI have continued apace — cyber experts predict evolving malicious tactics for 2024. READ MORE

 

Dallas Creates New Police Unit to Promote Transparency and Discipline The new unit will be composed mostly of civilian employees. It will publish an annual accountability report that evaluates the department on its policies and training, compared to best practices nationwide. READ MORE

 

Despite Opposition, Newsom Advances Delta Tunnel Project The California governor and his administration are moving forward with a plan to build a 45-mile water tunnel between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, even as the project has received heavy pushback from environmental groups. READ MORE

 

Digitally Distracted Students Have Lower Academic Performance The Program for International Student Assessment found that about 54 percent of students got distracted by others using digital devices. Those who were distracted scored 15 points lower in math. READ MORE

 

Forensic Investigation Goes Mobile Take your forensic investigations to the next level with a comprehensive multi-biometric identification solution. READ MORE

 

Former Dallas DA Craig Watkins, Creator of Nation's First Conviction Integrity Unit, Dies at 56 The Dallas native was the state’s first Black district attorney and used DNA testing in cases, leading to about two dozen exonerations. His Conviction Integrity Unit has been nationally and internationally recognized. READ MORE

 

Gates Foundation Seeks (and Funds) New Strategies to Address Economic Mobility Fifty million Americans are living in poverty or near it. A new grant program will help nonprofits address inequities and promote upward mobility. READ MORE

 

Georgia Technology Authority Names State Insider as CTO The Georgia Technology Authority has appointed government technology veteran Subramanian Muniasamy to serve as chief technology officer. He brings public-sector IT experience from another Georgia state agency to the role. READ MORE

 

Glenn Marchi Named CIO of Orange County, N.Y. Marchi previously spent seven years leading the Office of Central and Information Services for nearby Dutchess County, N.Y., with both jurisdictions being located just north of New York City. READ MORE

 

How Digitization Can Make Government More Equitable As experts recently discussed at Code for America’s FormFest 2023 event, the digitization of government forms and processes can create more equitable access to government services for constituents. READ MORE

 

How Indiana Is Offering Free Cybersecurity Resources to Cities Armed with federal money, Indiana is giving endpoint detection and response services to local governments, with 31 entities signing up so far. But can the state make this last after the money runs out? READ MORE

 

Minnesota's Top Transit Agency Tries New Approaches to Public Safety Metro Transit in Minneapolis-St. Paul is using new methods of fare enforcement, as well as partnering with social service nonprofits, in an effort to combat open drug use and generally make trains feel safer. READ MORE

 

Modernizing Legacy Systems Is Ultimately User-Centered Work In 2023, we checked in with states on where they are with updating their major systems of record, from DMVs to ERPs. Many are overcoming tech debt with the end goal of a better resident experience. READ MORE

 

More Than Stenography: Exploring Court Record Options (Part 1) As courts grapple with a growing need for more reporters, some are considering turning to automated speech-to-text tools and other less traditional alternatives. READ MORE

 

More Than Stenography: Exploring Court Record Options (Part 1) As courts grapple with a growing need for more reporters, some are considering turning to automated speech-to-text tools and other less traditional alternatives. READ MORE

 

NASCIO Resource Offers States 12 Key Considerations for AI A new resource from NASCIO offers 12 key considerations intended to serve as guidance for states as they work to develop road maps to guide implementation of artificial intelligence technologies. READ MORE

 

New Jersey Schools Still Waiting for Aid Two Years After Ida The federal government promised $23 million to assist with recovery efforts after Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on 49 schools and nine colleges and universities across the state. Many are still waiting for those funds. READ MORE

 

North Texas City Drives Ahead With Driverless Vehicles Arlington has been using May Mobility to run its Rideshare, Automation and Payment Integration Demonstration program since 2021, which utilizes a fleet of four self-driving vehicles to transport 150 to 200 riders daily. READ MORE

 

Opening Up Primary Elections Is a Voting Rights Issue The primary is often the only real contest in choosing those who will represent us. Closed party primaries are unrepresentative and undemocratic, and they disenfranchise more than half of the voting public: independents. READ MORE

 

Oregon Taps Former Bank of America Senior VP as New CTO Jimmy Godard previously spent more than two decades with the bank, holding roles such as senior vice president of strategy and governance and senior vice president of program service delivery manager. READ MORE

 

Oregon’s Paid Leave Program Offers Frustration Instead of Payment Wait times to speak to customer service representatives have risen to an average of more than 52 minutes, and as many as 1,500 people are experiencing delays due to the identity verification process. READ MORE

 

Over Two Decades, Much of the West Has Turned Blue. Why Hasn't Texas? Its sprawling size is one reason. But there are other factors at work, including discouraged Democrats and Republicans’ success at courting Hispanic voters. READ MORE

 

Pennsylvania Considers Annual Fee for Electric Vehicle Owners The proposed bill would charge electric vehicle owners $290 a year to supplement decreased revenue lost from the state’s gas tax. It is estimated the fee would generate as much as $20 million annually for the state. READ MORE

 

Political Spending by Public-Sector Unions Is Deep Blue More than 95 percent of PAC spending by the four biggest public-sector unions went to Democrats, according to the Commonwealth Foundation. READ MORE

 

Post-pandemic federal funding for digital equity and broadband initiatives has pushed connectivity work forward exponentially. As the new year approaches, experts ask: How do we keep this going? READ MORE

 

Post-Twitter, Government Social Media Remains Up in the Air Facebook. TikTok. X. In a year that saw major upheaval across popular social platforms, are these sites still viable options for delivering vital public information? READ MORE

 

Ransomware Incident Affects Scores of Credit Unions Credit union solutions provider Ongoing Operations experienced a cyber incident in late November. About 60 credit unions are believed to be suffering a level of disruption as a result. READ MORE

 

Red States Struggle to Clean Voter Rolls Without ERIC Republican-led states that withdrew from the Electronic Registration Information Center are now struggling to find new ways to adequately update their voter rolls. Prior to 2022, more than half the states participated in the program. READ MORE

 

San Francisco CIO Linda Gerull Announces Retirement City and county of San Francisco CIO Linda Gerull has set her retirement for Dec. 29. Chief Information Security Officer Michael Makstman will serve as the interim director of the Department of Technology. READ MORE

 

Secrets Behind Successful 311 Apps: Unlocking User Satisfaction How do some agencies create apps residents like to use? The minds behind some of the highest-rated 311 apps share best practices and recommendations to improve performance and citizen experience. READ MORE

 

Smarter Urban Tech Gives Transportation New Data to Leverage New understandings related to parking, micromobility safety, intersection activity and more are being realized thanks to smart transportation technologies. Officials say the data they are able to collect opens the door to new innovations. READ MORE

 

States Increasingly Boost Workforce with Nontraditional Hires From eliminating four-year degree requirements to major reskilling programs and a focus on building agency culture, state IT shops are looking to new ways to overcome persistent staffing concerns. READ MORE

 

Texas Ends Legal Challenge to Tax Cuts, Increased Teacher Pensions In what seems to be a coordinated effort between the governor, attorney general and secretary of state, six lawsuits challenging voter-approved property tax cuts and increases to teachers’ pensions have been blocked. READ MORE

 

Tools to Combat Voter Intimidation, from the 19th Century and Today A successful lawsuit based on 19th-century laws to combat the Ku Klux Klan has renewed attention on how police officers can help protect voters. It's part of a broader effort to crack down on intimidation. READ MORE

 

Transportation, Infrastructure Move Toward Electrification As cities work to get more electric vehicles and micromobility options like e-bikes onto streets, they're also putting livability and equity at the center of how technology can improve the urban experience. READ MORE

 

What Caused California's $68B Budget Hole? California’s projected $68 billion shortfall for the coming fiscal year represents a big challenge. Still, California’s deep reserves can reduce the burden. READ MORE

White House Taps National Security Vet as Cybersecurity Lead Harry Coker Jr. is now the second official national cyber director for the federal government, and he comes to the job with a resume that includes leadership stints with the CIA and the NSA. READ MORE

 

Will 2024 be the Year of Car-Charging Made Easy (or Easier)? Seamless and easy car-charging is the goal for drivers and the auto industry. But getting to complete interoperability is still an elusive target requiring widespread coordination among multiple stakeholders and standards. READ MORE

 

 

Teacher's aide denied unemployment insurance benefits after being found to have left his employment for personal and noncompelling reasons

An individual [Claimant] had been employed as a teacher's aide. He quit this position in order to become a full-time student and earn his bachelor's degree. Claimant had filed for unemployment insurance benefits but the New York State Department of Labor issued an initial determination finding that Claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits.

After an administrative hearing, an Administrative Law Judge [ALJ] affirmed the Department of Labor's denial of Claimant's application for unemployment insurance benefits.

The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board [Board] sustained the ALJ's ruling, explaining that the Claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits as the result of Claimant's having "voluntarily left his employment without good cause." Claimant appealed the Board's determination.

Citing Matter of Lee [Commissioner of Labor], 190 AD3d 1170, and other court decisions, the Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decision, noting "It is well established that resigning from a position in order to pursue academic studies, while commendable, constitutes a personal and noncompelling reason for separating from one's employment, disqualifying a claimant from receiving unemployment insurance benefits."

The Appellate Division said it was undisputed that Claimant left his employment in order to complete an undergraduate degree program. Accordingly, substantial evidence supported the Board's finding that Claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits as he had "voluntarily left his employment without good cause," and dismissed Claimant's appeal.

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.

 

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reports a decline in local government employment outside New York City

On December 14, 2023, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued a report indicating a decline in local government employment in New York State in contrast to the nation as a whole. The Comptroller's report indicates that although the nation as a whole saw a 2% increase in the number of full-time employees over a 15-year period, employment in New York's local government workforce levels contracted, mostly due to two key events: the Great Recession of 2007-09 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We all rely on local government employees for essential services such as education, public safety, health care, and much more,” DiNapoli said. “But local governments were hard hit by two major events, most recently the pandemic, that have taken their toll on staffing levels. Local officials must continue to meet the difficult task of balancing their budgets while making certain they have the staff in place to ensure critical services are there for their residents.

"DiNapoli’s report shows the state’s full-time local government workforce outside New York City decreased by 50,000 workers (11.1%) since the end of the Great Recession. While this was similar to the national trend, New York experienced more year-over-year volatility and a longer period of overall economic decline. As full-time workforce numbers were starting to rebound, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to another reduction. While billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief aid to local governments and school districts likely helped employment numbers recover some in 2022, they remain below 2009 levels.

"DiNapoli’s report also found the following with respect to full-time local government workers outside New York City:

• Regionally, more local employees worked upstate (55%) as opposed to downstate in 2022. Upstate local governments employed 415 workers per 10,000 residents, significantly more than downstate (381).

• Funding from various federal emergency relief programs, as well as the restoration of state aid cuts and a rebound in sales tax collections, helped many local governments through the pandemic enabling them to restore full-time staffing to near pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Despite this, overall employment was still below 2009 levels.
• School districts were the largest local government employer in 2022, with 271,611 full-time workers, of which over two-thirds were instructional staff. Counties were second, with 92,413 employees, followed by cities and villages (54,395), and towns (28,418).
  
• The average annual salary for full-time local government employees was approximately $76,700 in 2022, up from about $53,900 in 2007. However, after adjusting for inflation, the average annual salary was nearly flat with an overall increase of 2.1% from 2007 to 2022.
• Workers employed in police protection were the highest paid local government employees in 2022, with an average annual salary of $104,742, followed by fire protection employees ($91,300). Public welfare employees had the lowest average annual salary at $59,133."

Click the URL below to access the Comptroller's Report posted on the Internet:

Local Government Workforce Trends in New York State

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Municipal and School audits released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

On December 13, 2023, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following Municipal and School audits were issued.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access both the summary and the complete audit report

 

Fillmore Central School District – Credit Cards and Purchase Cards (Allegany County) Although the 230 charges reviewed by auditors totaling approximately $40,000 were for appropriate district purposes, charges were not properly approved or adequately supported. All 230 charges had one or more exceptions that could have led to potentially inappropriate card use, including approximately $38,000 in charges were not properly approved prior to the card being used; and approximately $12,000 in charges did not have adequate support to show what was purchased.

 

Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District - Information Technology (IT) (Westchester County) District officials did not ensure that unneeded network user accounts were disabled in a timely manner. As a result, 21% of the district’s network user accounts were unneeded and provided additional entry points that could have been used to inappropriately access the network and view personal, private and sensitive information, make unauthorized changes to records, deny legitimate access to electronic information, or gain access to or control over other IT functions. Auditors found that officials did not convey management’s expectations for managing network user accounts through written policies and procedure or disable 551 unneeded network user accounts.

 

Stafford Fire Department Inc. - Financial Management (Genesee County) The board and treasurer did not properly manage the department’s finances. The board did not adopt realistic budgets or take an active role in monitoring department finances. As a result, the operating budget was underestimated by $29,667 in 2021 and by $33,298 in 2022. Auditors found the board did not:  include revenue estimates in the budgets for 2021, 2022 and 2023. It did not develop a written multiyear financial or capital plan to help guide budget development and save for capital asset and equipment purchases.

 

Town of Baldwin – Claims Auditing (Chemung County) The board did not always properly audit claims before approving them for payment. Due to insufficient documentation, auditors were unable to determine, and the board was unable to support, it approved claims before payment. A review of 71 claims totaling approximately $55,100 determined that town officials did not comply with the town’s procurement policy. In addition, 23 claims totaling approximately $35,000 did not contain evidence that the required competition was sought and nine claims totaling approximately $7,400 were not supported with sufficient documentation such as detailed receipts, weigh tickets or itemized invoices.

 

Town of Berkshire – Procurement and Conflict of Interest (Tioga County) The board did not consistently seek competition for purchases or avoid conflicts of interest. As a result, goods and services may not have been procured in a cost-effective manner. Of the 113 purchases totaling $771,727 auditors reviewed, officials did not seek or could not support that they sought competition for 36 purchases totaling $211,171, or 27.  The town may have saved $3,891 on diesel fuel purchases if town officials had used the New York State Office of General Services contract to purchase diesel fuel. Additionally, the highway superintendent had a prohibited interest in a contract between the town and his construction company, providing construction services totaling $3,000.

 

Town of Hamburg - Finance Office (Erie County) The board and town officials did not ensure that credit card purchases were supported and for proper purposes. As a result, the former director of finance made improper credit card purchases totaling approximately $2,000 and approved her own credit card purchases. The former director was arrested in September 2022 for charges relating to her use of the town’s credit card. She pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in December 2022. Additionally, the board and town officials did not ensure the finance office payroll was accurate and supported. The town also made improper, questionable and unsupported payroll payments totaling more than $19,000 to the former director while an employee who reported to her received unsupported out-of-title payroll payments totaling approximately $1,400. Additionally, personnel directors approved their own overtime pay totaling more than $5,000. 

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