Reference Articles

Displaying Items 646-660 (of 728)

The Art of Leadership: How to Paint Paintings, Write Stories and Create Things That Last

Leadership Focus

September 12, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

Whether it’s in business, government or any other profession, leading through artistic sensibilities may not seem a common route to choose, but it undoubtedly can lead to the creation of organizations and institutions that will simply stand the test of time while continuing to have a positive impact long after our season of leading them has drawn to a close.

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Three Ways Cities Can Navigate the ‘Silver Tsunami’

September 9, 2016

Elisha Harig-Blaine, Principal Associate for Housing - National League of Cities

Cities are now five years into a demographic change that will impact nearly every family in America from now until well beyond 2030. In the face of this change, how can city leaders meet the challenge of connecting available resources to the elderly?

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State Program Offers Great Promise to Valdosta City Youth

September 7, 2016

While it’s normal for high school students to get jobs working in fast food or in retail stores to earn extra money while in school, very few high schoolers have jobs that could lead to stable, long-lasting careers in public service.

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Fort Valley's Front Porch Roll Call

August 23, 2016

According to Robert S. Stering's 2004 Police Officer's Handbook, a roll call is a briefing "where supervisors take attendance, inspect uniform and equipment, inform the oncoming shift of any outstanding incidents that may have occurred, inform officers of suspects to be looking out for, relate any law or procedural changes, and so on." While roll calls are a very common occurence in police departments around the state, the city of Fort Valley is taking the roll call to the community.

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Have It Both Ways: A Standardized and Customized Document Management System

CitySmart by VC3

August 18, 2016

Robert Parker, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

With software, cities feel that they often face a dilemma. Standardized, out-of-the-box software lowers cost but restricts customization. Customized software better meets the needs of cities but may increase cost. What to do?

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Setting the Millage Rate Webinar

August 17, 2016

On August 8, 2016, the Georgia Municipal Association in Cooperation with the Georgia Department of Revenue produced a live webinar entitled “Setting the Millage Rate.” The presenter for this webinar was Ellen Mills, Director of the Local Government Services Division at the Georgia Department of Revenue.

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Millennial Engagement: Why We Need This Generation as Public Servants

Leadership Focus

August 15, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

Over the past several years I’ve developed great friendships and working relationships with many young leaders throughout our community. They’re entrepreneurs, CEO’s of successful technology start-up's, restaurant owners, vice-presidents of successful companies  and elected officials who share in common the fact that they’re all under the age of forty. In developing these strong ties to millennials, I’ve come to the conclusion that all of our communities would be very fortunate to have more individuals from this generation serving in elected office.

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Still Using Desktop Computers for Your File Storage? Understand the Big Risks

CitySmart by VC3

July 27, 2016

Brian Ocfemia, Technical Account Manager, Sophicity

We sometimes hear that cities don’t have a centralized place to access shared files—such as a server or a location in the cloud. That means cities may still store important files on individual desktop computers. Let’s take a step back and look at three major risks in such a situation.

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Why We Could Use More Artists, Athletes and Architects as Politicians

Leadership Focus

July 18, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

I came to realize during my time in office just how much having been exposed to the arts in my youth benefited me everyday as a mayor.

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Why Cities Need Data Access and Authorization Policies

CitySmart by VC3

June 29, 2016

Anthony Fantino, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

Someone attempted a $90,000 transaction from my machine. What do I do? Let that sink in. As the finance officer, city clerk, treasurer, or city manager, how would you feel? What would you do? How did it happen? Where would you look?

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Special Event Permits for the Sale of Alcohol

June 15, 2016

The Georgia Department of Revenue requested GMA to provide the following information about the issuance of special event permits for the sale of alcohol.

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Rebuilding Trust in Government: Why It Has to Start at the Local Level

Leadership Focus

June 14, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

As we survey the national  landscape these days it has become more than apparent that there is simply a fundamental lack of trust in government  running rampant throughout our nation.  Politics as usual and a breach of the public trust by many elected officials has led to a sense of unease and even outright anger taking hold while shaking the very foundations of our political process.

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5 Reasons Your City Is an Easy Target for Hackers

CitySmart by VC3

May 26, 2016

Anthony Fantino, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

Hacking has evolved like most information technology. It might surprise you to know that modern hacking is largely automated. That means hackers are using software to probe thousands and thousands of computers in order to look for weak spots. And once they find a weak spot, they attempt to break in. That’s why your city is a target.

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Putting Public Service Above Politics: How To Do It and Why It Matters

Leadership Focus

May 12, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

In what seems to be a never ending campaign season where we’re all bombarded with speeches, debates and enough political rhetoric to make our collective heads spin I wanted to take a moment to shift some focus back to the idea of what it means to be a public servant as opposed to a politician.

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Six Easy to Fix Website Mistakes That Are Making Your City Look Bad

CitySmart by VC3

April 29, 2016

Victoria Boyko, Software Development Consultant, Sophicity

It’s fun to get excited about ambitious website goals—a new website, a new online payment function, or a photo gallery highlighting your tourism or downtown development. Or maybe you’re so focused on day-to-day operational activities that you haven’t taken a look at your website in a while. Either way, it’s easy to neglect some obvious things that make your website—and your city—look bad.

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Displaying Items 646-660 (of 728)