Management
Local news is crucial to governance, and it’s hurting
COMMENTARY | Public officials need to support it any way they can. It’s good for their communities, and it's good for them.
Management
How to prevent ideas from getting lost in translation
Policy researchers and government administrators often seem like they’re speaking different languages. A new book aims to help experts communicate more clearly, so their ideas can have real-world impacts.
Digital Government
In rural Arizona, Maricopa County uses tech to make voting more secure
Providing voting access in rural areas has long been a challenge in the state, and across the country. Now, Maricopa county is hosting a big test of its efforts to improve access to the ballot in remote polling locations.
Sponsor Content
Local Government Tax Guide
How to modernize tax filing and payment processes with a focus on efficiency so local business owners can get back to serving your community.
Management
‘Tough-on-crime’ policies are back in some places that had reimagined criminal justice
Several states are considering or have already enacted legislation undoing more progressive policies.
Management
Sunshine Week brings attention to state efforts to overhaul open records laws
As technology renders decades-old open records policies obsolete, states look to overhaul them. It is pitting government officials against good-government groups and reporters.
Management
988 currently doesn't use geolocation services. Counties want to change that.
Counties are pushing for Congress to pass legislation that will require calls be routed based on location. Wireless carriers are already working with the federal government to start doing that.
Digital Government
Supreme Court clarifies when public officials can block citizens on social media
The Supreme Court unanimously found in a pair of cases that whether a government official can block a constituent on their personal social media account hinges on if a post is a state action or is private conduct.
Workforce
Working-class people rarely have a seat ‘at the legislative table’ in state capitols
The dearth of working-class legislators raises concerns that economic challenges such as wage stagnation and the rising cost of living will get short shrift in state capitols.
Workforce
What’s the status of your EMS?
COMMENTARY | As rural communities struggle to keep Emergency Medical Services operating, how do we assess the condition of those services? Are we asking the right questions?
Management
Community groups step up to help rural agencies’ disaster recovery
Organizations like long-term recovery groups can help rural agencies get housing, financial, health care and food assistance to victims of natural disasters.
Management
There are 100,000 fewer Election Day polling places in 2024
A major Supreme Court decision, a pandemic and localized issues have all conspired to reduce the number of physical voting locations. Advocates say that’s bad for democracy.
Sponsor Content
Get the most out of your cloud-based HCM
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Infrastructure
Why do our traffic laws prioritize speed over safety?
COMMENTARY | Reducing traffic accidents is not rocket science. Lower speeds mean fewer accidents and less severe injuries when crashes do occur.
Infrastructure
Shapiro pitches carbon cap-and-invest plan to capitalize on Pennsylvania’s energy exports
The program could make could make the state a national clean energy leader, but critics claim it’s the same tax on electricity as the state’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Emerging Tech
4th traffic light would benefit pedestrians and drivers
Adding a white phase to stoplights that communicate with autonomous vehicles would decrease delays at intersections by 25%, researchers say, even when pedestrians are added to the model.
Infrastructure
$3.3B in federal grants announced for communities split apart by highways
The one-time infusion of cash for highway caps, bike trails and other improvements shows the Biden administration’s priorities for one of its most high-profile infrastructure initiatives.
Emerging Tech
Cities dip into immersive technologies
Digital twins are helping streamline city planning and apprenticeship programs, but governments must step up adoption to fully realize the benefits, an expert says.
Finance
From paper to portal: How one city brought tax filings online
Under an aggressive modernization strategy, Columbus, Ohio, has built a one-stop shop for filing income tax returns.
Cybersecurity
If schools won’t ban kids’ cellphones, some lawmakers say, they will
Florida now bans cellphones during class, and lawmakers elsewhere like the idea.
Workforce