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The Texas winners in the program were Allen, El Paso and Dallas. Here’s the rundown of the Allen initiatives that caught the judges’ attention. Today’s story is the first of three, originally published in Government Technology*. Stay tuned for the next two.
Allen consistently looks to the future and prioritizes its public safety systems above all others. Information Technology and the Police Department partner with AT&T FirstNet to provide drone services and mobile devices for first responders, and they met early this year to discuss readiness. As a result, police, EMS, fire rescue and outside agencies had reliable, non-interrupted access to communications, devices and drones when a May mass shooting happened at an open-air mall.
The city of 105,000 earned the 2022 Future Ready Award but this year listed the impact of large-scale crises as its No. 1 challenge. No. 2 was listed as a disconnect between state and local priorities. Federal policies, legal framework, demographic changes and funding also offer opportunities and challenges.
Cybersecurity funding can be tight, but ITS continues to build its cyber framework and will focus on the constantly evolving landscape through and beyond 2024. Notably, the city is putting into place ongoing cyber programming with 18 projects aligned to strategic planning. The city worked with an advisory firm to measure maturity, document processes and understand staff responsibilities. Last year, the city adopted an incident response plan and an emergency communications policy.
Creativity comes into play when appropriate, and the Allen Fire Department illustrates this. The department is using gamified virtual reality training that re-creates a structure fire and response, and uses YouTube for outreach, where the "Firefighter FAQ” series answers questions sent in by the city’s youth.
Across the city, departments have implemented innovative but replicable technology approaches, engaging with IT to address business and constituent needs with the future in mind.
*The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology are part of e.Republic, Industry Insider — Texas’ parent company.
