Phoenix Makes Top Ten Digital Cities Survey for 2014

The Center for Digital Government (CDG), a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government, recently ranked Phoenix as a top ten digital city in its 2014 Digital Cities Survey for its technology initiatives and projects.

​The institute conducts the survey every summer, and invites all U.S. cities, towns, villages and consolidated city/county governments to participate.  Phoenix received recognition in the 250,000 or more population category, and tied with Long Beach, CA for sixth place. 

“To compete successfully in the 21st century economy, our city must continue to find innovative ways to improve our services using technology,” said Mayor Greg Stanton. “This CDG recognition is a testament to Phoenix’s progress — from building a responsive website that works on all devices, to improving our public-record searches, to moving the permit application process online, we always want to be forward thinking.”

The CDG asked participants to submit the ten technology initiatives of which they are most proud across four categories: citizen engagement, policy, operations, and technology and data.  Phoenix was awarded the top ten ranking based on the following:

Mobile-Responsive Web Design – The newly-designed phoenix.gov allows customers to easily view city information on any Internet-enabled device such as a smart phone, tablet or desktop computer, without being redirected to a separate mobile site.​

Online Government Transparency – Residents and other interested parties can search for public records, such as budget and financial documents, contracts, meeting minutes, and campaign finance information, through an online portal and web application available at the Public Records webpage.

​Economic Development and Education/Youth Engagement and Entrepreneurial Support through the Phoenix Public Library – Youth, small businesses, and entrepreneurs have specialized tools and information at their fingertips at the College Depot and The Hive webpages located on the Phoenix Public Library website.

Streamline Development Process / Online Development Tools – The Planning and Development Department created electronic plan review, self-certification program and online permitting web applications in support of the city’s goal to streamline the development process, all of which can be found at the Planning and Development Department website.

“Technology is key to streamlining business processes, improving communication with our constituents, and enabling innovation, things we are working hard to achieve as a city,” said Councilman Bill Gates, Chair of the City Council Finance, Efficiency, Economy and Sustainability Subcommittee. “We thank the Center for Digital Government for recognizing our efforts.”

Data-Based Decision-Making/Business Intelligence – The Public Works Department internally uses business intelligence to make data-driven decisions regarding trash pick-up and routing. The city competitively bids trash pick-up against private-sector companies, and must stay competitive by implementing the most up-to-date efficiency measures. 

​Aviation Mobile Workforce (xPort) – The Aviation Department instituted a mobile workforce tool, xPort, which allows maintenance staff to use inexpensive mobile devices to receive work orders, manage priorities, communicate with supervisors, and close out work orders entirely in the field, without paper. This led to a 10% reduction in non-productive field time for maintenance employees.

​Data Center Consolidation and Virtualization – The city consolidated some operations into leased data center space and continues moving towards a virtual environment. These moves have led to fewer server purchases and lower costs for power and cooling.  By the end of 2013, the City had saved $1.85 million on servers, $250,000 on server cabinets, $100,000 per year on electricity, and $60,000 in cooling costs.    

​Cybersecurity, Internal and External Education – The city’s award-winning Information Security website at phoenix.gov/infosec provides valuable information on how residents can keep safe in the cyberspace world.  The city also provides web-based training to employees to ensure they are following online security best practices and protecting the public’s information.

In addition to submitting initiatives for the main categories, cities were invited to submit two additional initiatives exclusive from any of the other four.  Phoenix’s submittals covered public safety and city planning:

Smart Policing and Safe Neighborhoods – The city provides web applications at the Police Department website allowing residents to query and map selected crimes for their neighborhood and file police reports for non-emergency crimes.  Additionally, the Neighborhood Services Department has made available a mobile app, myPHXAZ, for iPhones and Androids, that can be used for reporting blight and other neighborhood issues and can be downloaded from an app store.

Planning for Phoenix’s Future – Residents can participate in planning for the communities along the light rail line by providing input at the Reinvent Phoenix website; support sustainability by finding out how to help the city reduce the amount of trash sent to city landfills by 40 percent by the year 2020 at the Public Works Department website; and reviewing and providing feedback on the Phoenix General Plan at the PlanPHX website.

“Technology is becoming even more important because of increased customer demand for more online services and the ability to be heard on important issues,” said City Manager Ed Zuercher.  “We not only have to improve our technology, but also change the way we think about technology and service delivery.  This recognition as a top ten city tells us we are on the right track as we continue to shape our technology roadmap.”  

The other cities that made the top ten are:  Los Angeles, CA (first); Kansas City, MO and Seattle, WA (tied for second); Jacksonville, FL and Louisville Metro Government (tied for third); Philadelphia, PA (fourth); Raleigh, NC and Riverside, CA (tied for fifth); City and County of Denver, CO (seventh); Oakland, CA (eighth); Albuquerque, NM and Sacramento, CA (tied for ninth); and Mesa, AZ (tenth). 

The Digital Cities Survey Awards will be presented at a reception during the National League of Cities conference Nov. 20, 2014, in Austin, TX.

This is the 14th year the CDG has conducted the survey.  More information about the Center for Digital Government and the 2014 Digital Cities Survey is available at the Digital Communitieds website.