Riverside’s Innovation and Technology Department Recognized for Excellence
Published: 11/13/2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov. 13, 2024
Contact:
Phil Pitchford
Public Information Officer
951-826-5975
Riverside’s Innovation and Technology Department Recognized for Excellence
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The City of Riverside’s Innovation and Technology Department has been recognized for excellence by two industry leaders.
The Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC) has bestowed the prestigious MISAC Excellence in Information Technology Practices award on the City of Riverside. The award praises the City for implementing information technology practices that excel in creative and efficient uses of local government resources.
The awards, which have been awarded annually since 2000, demonstrate that Riverside has met or exceeded MISAC standards in the areas of: Budget and Strategic Planning, Purchasing, Operations and Staffing, Customer Satisfaction, Internet, Project Management, Professional Development and Training, Disaster Preparedness and Recovery, Policies and Procedures, Security, and Geographic Information Systems.
“Riverside is a leader in using technology to improve city operations, including new advances such as our Real Time Crime Center, automated public works dispatching, and advanced cybersecurity defenses, driven by our best-in-class Innovation and Technology (IT) Department,” City Manager Mike Futrell said. “Riverside’s award-winning IT professionals ensure the use of the most advance technology to advance and defend city operations, maintaining a consistent level of excellence.”
The City also was recognized by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) as a winner in the 24th annual Digital Cities Survey, recognizing cities utilizing technology to enhance digital services and transparency, strengthen cybersecurity, digital privacy rights, and digital equity, and those finding innovative ways to support solutions for social challenges facing cities today.
The City of Riverside was specifically recognized for making major improvements to update aging infrastructure, increase access to digital services, improve efficiency and reduce costs.
“Cities that embrace technology are leaders in providing outstanding customer service in a timely manner,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “We are fortunate to have such an excellent team here in Riverside that seeks out new and innovative ways of doing business, continually improving our customer experience.”
Riverside’s GIS was over 22 years old when the city invested in a new system, Esri’s ArcGIS. The new system has helped the city’s GIS team map data from 311 Call Center reports on debris and encampments, as well as affordable housing locations.
The city has also updated its network infrastructure and data centers, consolidating data centers and introducing a fiber ring, which ensures city infrastructure can withstand outages and operate at a high capacity.
To improve digital access for residents, the city forged a partnership with telecom company SiFi Networks Riverside. SiFi has invested more than $300 million in the design, construction and maintenance of a fiber-optic system to bring Internet service to every residence and business in the city, including subsidized services for low-income households.
“Cities of every size are redefining what’s possible using technology to elevate public service and improve government,” said John Matelski, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government. “The Digital Cities Survey is proud to honor these visionary leaders and cities setting bold new benchmarks in digital governance.”
More information can be found at: https://www.govtech.com/dc/digital-cities/digital-cities-survey-2024-winners-announced
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