Virginia cities didn’t exactly shine in the Center for Digital Government’s 2013 Digital Cities survey, but they didn’t do too shabbily either. The CDG lists 10 finalists (more, if you include ties) in four population categories. No Virginia city snagged a top spot but seven deserved mention.
A panel of judges rated cities on factors such as transparency and open data, mobility, finance management, staffing, connectivity, cybersecurity, shared services, cloud computing, disaster recover and the use of virtualization techniques.
“Cities that are investing in technology are seeing huge cost savings that are critical to operations and their ability to meet higher demand for services,” said Todd Sander, CDG’s executive director. “These cities are true innovators and we applaud them as they work in the spirit of collaboration to provide extraordinary value to constituents despite budget setbacks.”
In the 250,000+ category, Boston, Louisville and Philadelphia scored top honors. In Virginia, Virginia Beach shared 5th place with two other cities.
In the 125,000-249,999 category, Alexandria scored 3rd, Hampton tied for 5th and Richmond scored 8th.
In the 75,000-124,999 category, Lynchburg placed 6th and Roanoke 9th.
And in the under-75,000 category, Williamsburg came in 9th.
Bacon’s bottom line: News flash to Republicans and conservatives who think that the surest sign of efficient government is low taxes. Not necessarily. Low taxes are great but they can simply reflect a minimal level of services. Productivity and responsive government are critical, too. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are big drivers of productivity in government. Where does your local government stand?
— JAB
