Now that the Federal government, via the Department of Labor (DoL), has signed up to put $2 billion of stimulus-related funding into shoring up beleaguered state unemployment insurance (UI) systems overpowered by the jobless claim surge due to coronavirus pandemic, Federal and state officials discussed how those efforts will roll out during a panel discussion at MeriTalk’s State Tech Vision virtual program on September 15.
The General Services Administration (GSA) has named Waldo Jaquith, a veteran technologist and former member of the Biden-Harris transition team, to be GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan’s senior advisor for state, local, tribal, and territorial government.
Crumbling bridges and leaky levees. Buckling roadways. Unsafe water pipes. Inadequate public transit. The list of U.S. infrastructure failings is both broad and deep. The United States is paying only about half of its necessary infrastructure bill, and the total investment gap has grown from $2.1 trillion over 10 years, to a current figure of nearly $2.59 trillion over 10 years, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. As a result, local government leaders face staggering infrastructure requirements that local tax revenues cannot fulfill.
The city of Chicago announced that it has tripled the number of self-service payment kiosks across the city.
The City of Houston announced the launch of its new 311 platform that will enable citizens to more easily access city information and report non-emergency issues.
The past 18 months have placed a massive burden on state and local governments (SLGs) as they have had to shift from delivering citizen services in-person to delivering services almost entirely online.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers plans to use Federal funding to overhaul the state’s decades-old and technologically outdated unemployment insurance system.
The New Orleans Parish Communications District (OPCD) partnered with Citibot to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) powered 311 chatbot – dubbed “Jazz” – to streamline information sharing and improve customer service, the City of New Orleans said on June 15.
The Cherokee Nation has tapped Salesforce to help the tribal nation distribute $785 million in COVID-19 Federal relief funds from the American Rescue Plan.
State and local government IT leaders delivered relatively optimistic forecasts for the role of technology and the ability of government to deliver better services in a post-pandemic environment during a panel discussion June 15 at e.Republic’s virtual State of GovTech 2021 conference.
