Posts Tagged: municipal

Convincing Local Governments

Notes From NAGWThe question I hear most often when I present about Morris County’s use of social media is “how did you convince your governing body to do this?” Governments need to be in social media because their constituents are in social media. It’s really that simple. Readership statistics tell the story. Newspaper readership isRead… Read more »

How Public Safety Agencies Can Use Social Media to Engage Their Employees

The Los Angeles Fire Department is a pioneer among public safety agencies and emergency responders in the usage of social media. The Department’s initial social media efforts began in 2005 and have since garnered recognition nationwide. LAFD’s presence is spread across multiple social media channels including Twitter, Facebook (look up the group “Los Angeles FD),Read… Read more »

Great Article on GASB 45 Rule

For municipalities with less than 100 employees, there is a low cost and reliable solution to remain compliant with GASB Rule 45. Check out GABS Help and related article below. http://www.empoweredmunicipality.com/accounting-for-post-employment-liabilities-for-municipalities

Two Tips for Presenting IT Projects to City Council

by Sophicity Every new budget cycle brings a bevy of projects and ideas before city council for approval. While projects like sidewalk improvement or traffic decongestion are easy to explain in terms of benefits and return on investment, IT projects can be a thorny subject, especially if the council is largely made up of non-technicalRead… Read more »

4 Best Practices for Fighting Phishing Attacks

by Sophicity Phishing is a form of fraud that masquerades as an official email or website which attempts to steal a victim’s username, password, and other information. Typically, a scammer will send an email that appears to be from a well-known bank, asking the user to log in to their account. When the victim clicksRead… Read more »

How Cities Can Increase Data Security and Save Money (Hint: Ditch the Tape Drive)

by Sophicity At the end of April 2009, a computer hacker managed to steal over 8.2 million personal records from the State of Virginia’s Prescription Monitoring Program, containing information such as social security and driver’s license numbers. Along with the stolen data, the hacker reportedly erased all of the State’s database backups, leaving no wayRead… Read more »

3 Ways to Save Money on Municipal IT Energy Costs

by Sophicity When a municipality is tasked with reducing operating costs, one often overlooked area is energy use in the IT infrastructure. With energy prices on the rise, an increasingly taxed power grid and growing public concern over efficiency, new technologies and approaches to the way IT operates can lead to a dramatic reduction inRead… Read more »

The Municipal Bond Market – A Fascinating Read – Really!

The other day someone I follow on Twitter, @ConstructionPM, posted a link to an article written about the state of the current Municipal Bond Market. Normally, I suppose this would make for a dry read. But this article resonated with me. Bonding is important to me as an engineer, because I can’t build anything ifRead… Read more »