Reference Articles

Displaying Items 661-675 (of 728)

The Art of Governing: 5 lessons I Learned from Rock & Roll

Leadership Focus

April 12, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

Governing, like rock and roll, can be a little unwieldy and it isn’t always pretty to watch. Yet focusing on the art of doing it in innovative ways can produce a final product which can stand the test of time if you work at it long enough.

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How Modern Email Software Helps You With Open Records Requests

CitySmart by VC3

March 30, 2016

Nathan Eisner, COO, Sophicity

Want to ruin a city clerk’s day? Say the words, “Open records request for an email.” These kinds of information requests are a giant hassle and we’ve written about their excessive cost. In many cases, cities are at an extreme disadvantage because they use obsolete, outdated email systems or consumer grade email systems that not only make email records hard to find but also may place the city at legal risk.

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The Art of Changemaking & Why Your City Should Be a Start-Up

Leadership Focus

March 10, 2016

Deke Copenhaver

There simply is no way for the places we choose to call home to stand still in a global economy where the world is in a constant state of disruption and transition with innovation taking place every day at an ever quickening pace. 

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Don’t Decommission Hardware Yourself—Call the Professionals

CitySmart by VC3

February 29, 2016

John Miller, Senior Consultant, Sophicity

As investigators combed for information about the San Bernardino shootings, they relied on electronic information that the killers thought was destroyed. The killers assumed that by damaging their electronic devices (including throwing some of them in water) that all of their information would be destroyed. However, it takes a lot more than smashing an electronic device to confirm that all data is successfully destroyed

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Take a Fresh Look at Your City's IT in the New Year

CitySmart by VC3

January 27, 2016

Alicia Klemola, Account Manager, Sophicity

A new year provides a good excuse to take a fresh look at your city’s information technology. After all, it’s 2016. The great thing about information technology today is that many services have drastically improved in quality while lowering in cost over the last few years. 

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Everyday Warning Signs That You Need to Modernize Your IT

CitySmart by VC3

December 29, 2015

Dave Mims, CEO, Sophicity

Many cities often wait to reexamine and modernize their technology only until a major disastrous event such as a server failure, virus, or natural disaster hits. But that likely doesn’t mean the technology worked perfectly until that point. Warning signs probably existed that were ignored or accepted as the status quo.

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5 Reasons Your City Needs Offsite Data Backup

CitySmart by VC3

November 18, 2015

John Miller, Senior Consultant, Sophicity

Cities often overlook or too lightly consider the critical offsite data backup component as part of an overall data backup and disaster recovery strategy. Why do cities need to re-think offsite data backup so badly?

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Avoiding Serious Email Open Records Mistakes

CitySmart by VC3

October 21, 2015

Nathan Eisner, COO, Sophicity

Following open records laws and records retention policies is serious business. However, email sometimes gets treated like an informal type of communication. But when email is considered a public record, an informal approach to email becomes hard-to-manage, expensive, and time-consuming when responding to an open records request.

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5 Questions to Help You Organize Your City's Website Information

CitySmart by VC3

September 14, 2015

Victoria Boyko, Software Development Consultant. Sophicity

So how can you make sure your city’s website content connects better with your audience? Here are five questions you should ask about the information you put on your website.

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What City Managers Want—And Why They Need Technology To Do It

CitySmart by VC3

August 14, 2015

Dave Mims, CEO, Sophicity

If viewed as a “nice-to-have” or a cost center, technology can seem quite detached from the day-to-day worries of a city manager. But if viewed as a core foundation of helping city managers do what they do best, technology is an essential investment that helps cut costs and achieve important goals. 

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Listing of Local Government Reports and Surveys

July 28, 2015

This listing of state mandated reports and survey is provided for general informational purpose only and should not be considered as legal advice.

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Why Is My Small City Considered a Cybersecurity Threat? Here's Why

CitySmart by VC3

July 9, 2015

John Miller, Senior Consultant

We often hear that hackers consider smaller cities to be so inconsequential that these cybercriminals wouldn’t bother attacking them. Wrong. Many data and cybersecurity breaches occur at smaller cities that go mostly unreported and unnoticed.

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Report: Leveraging Public Investment in the Arts

June 28, 2015

The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) in partnership with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) released a new industry impact report – “Leveraging Public Investment in the Arts.” This report contains a series of case studies and project studies that illuminate the positive impact of the arts as an economic development tool in Georgia’s communities.  

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5 Questions You Need to Ask About Body Camera Technology

CitySmart by VC3

June 15, 2015

John Miller, Senior Consultant, Sophicity

As body camera technology becomes more talked about and implemented incities, it’s easy to focus only on the actual body cameras. But similar to buying and implementing any shiny new toy—whether it’s new software or buying new computers—the purchase of a new technology that’s integrated with an existing poor technology infrastructure will only lead to frustration and risk.

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Macon Embraces Creative Placemaking with Maker Movement and Festival

June 5, 2015

In 2014, ArtPlace awarded the College Hill Alliance $125,000 to support its effort to host Central Geor­gia’s first maker festival. The event aims to position Macon regionally as a leader in creative placemaking and innovation.

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Displaying Items 661-675 (of 728)