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National Day of Civic Hacking is August 11

ELGL and Code for America are working together to promote the National Day of Civic Hacking on August 11! Learn more about this exciting day where civic leaders will work to tackle some of local governments most difficult challenges. This guest post is by ELGL member Christopher Whitaker. Government works best when it’s government by...

I Have to Ask: Potholes, Parking, and Public Safety

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week Kathy Nyland writes how Seattle Councilor Sally Bagshaw influenced her career path. Hear more from Kathy on this GovLove episode - Podcast: Broadening Neighborhood Engagement. People often ask me about my path into government. I am the...

Public Meetings are Boring

Welcome to the blog series, "The Local Government Nerve Center" about the important work of clerks and recorders. Want to be a contributor? Learn more here. By Megan Asikainen, CivicClerk You are likely thrilled to see residents filing into your meeting room to observe and take part in public discussions on topics that will impact...

Future of Public Hearings

Travis Parker, City of Lakewood Colorado Planning Director, writes about how the role of technology played in changing the public hearing process in Lakewood. Throughout our country the business of local government is conducted in public hearings. Councils, boards and commissions sit behind a dais on a weeknight and listen to public comment before deliberating...

Relational Local Government

Right Now with Kevin Teater What I'm listening to: the Folk Pop station on Spotify What I'm reading: 'Walkable City - How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time' by Jeff Speck What I'm watching: Parks and Rec (Season 2: I got a very late start). The part where Mark, the planner, was...

Humanism in Local Government

Kyle Knott, LinkedIn & Twitter, has worked at Village of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, Elk Grove Township, Illinois, and DeKalb County Business Incubator. My first post was about the concept of professionalism. I wanted to convey that, at its core, professionalism calls for an abandonment of individuality to conform to a culture. This culture stresses the necessity of responsibility, accountability, and...

Human-Centered Public Service Design

Right Now w/ Rebecca Woodbury (LinkedIn / Twitter) What I’m Listening to – WORLD CUP What I’m Watching – WORLD CUP What I’m Doing – WORLD CUP What I’m Thinking About – WORLD CUP A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel called Human-Centered Public Service Design & How We Get There for SF Design Week. It was...

I Have to Ask: Creating a Policy Lab

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week Ben Clark, Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Oregon, writes about the potential of a Lane County-PPPM Policy Lab. For more info, read the policy lab report by Katie Fields, Keith Frazee, Darian Lightfoot, and Grace...

IAP2 #PIWorks2018 Conference Liveblog - Day 1

We're live at the IAP2 2018 PI Works Conference in Portland! Over the next two days, we're digging deep into public engagement tips, tactics and success stories, courtesy of the good folks from IAP2's Cascade Chapter. Follow along as we share what we're learning about how to remove barriers, increase participation and build a more...

I Have to Ask: The City Newsletter

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week Jordan Imlah, City of Milwaukie, Oregon Public Affairs Specialist, takes on the hotly debated topic of digital newsletter versus paper newsletter. One of the most enigmatic, yet seemingly straightforward, city communication tools is the newsletter. Most...

ELGL Born and Bred

ELGL continues to build a partnership with the League of Oregon Cities (LOC). Executive Director Mike Cully is committed to strengthening local government in Oregon and partnering with ELGL. He remarked about ELGL, Another example of collaboration is really a grassroots alignment with an organization founded on the principal of recognizing, promoting and helping the...

#ELGL18 #FriYay Afternoon

Down the stretch we come at #ELGL18.... Here's the Friday afternoon schedule..... Follow the action on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.... Join the members only conversation in our Facebook group. 1:30 p.m. Concurrent Sessions Beyond Employee Engagement The City of Aurora, Colorado and the City of Hillsboro, Oregon both dove into addressing how to become an employer...

#ELGL18 Friday Morning

It's Friday morning at #ELGL18! Let's rock.... 8:00 a.m. Welcome & Event Day Overview Winner Alert!!!! Building a Smarter Sewer System to Reduce Overflows in Greater Cincinnati At a Glance: To keep sewage mixed with stormwater out of waterways during rain events, Metropolitan Sewer District built a smarter sewer system that costs less than any other solution. Using...

I Have to Ask You: Civic Hackathons

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week Sam Edelstein, City of Syracuse, NY, Chief Data Officer, writes about civic hackathons and what they mean to communities. Civic hackathons are often touted as ways to develop new software systems or products for cities. All...

How NYC Reaches Its Most Vulnerable

Since my last post, I buzzed up to the Big Apple with some colleagues to learn about the City of New York’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU), an innovative Team of communicators, canvassers, and data specialists, working to bridge the gap between the number of residents who are qualified for services, and the number of residents...

Francie Palmer Honored with the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award in Government Communications

Congratulations to ELGL member Francie Palmer! Press release via California Association of Public Information Officers. Santa Rosa, Calif., - Francie Palmer, a seasoned government communications professional who served as the City of Rancho Cucamonga’s communications manager, was recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) as the state’s 2018 Paul B. Clark lifetime...

I Have to Ask: Coworking KC

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week Rick Usher writes about the growth of coworking space in Kansas City, Missouri. I write this from Kansas City’s newest and likely the world’s largest coworking space, Plexpod Westport Commons. Kansas City loves coworking and the...

Follow the Yellow Brick Road: #KCCM18

This post is by Kirsten Wyatt who is visiting Lawrence, Kansas for the 2018 Kansas City/County Managers conference. She'll be updating this post throughout the conference and tweeting using #KCCM18. Thursday, April 26 @ 3:00 Another portion of the afternoon session was the story of Garden City, KS. Here's a video about the community and...

I Have to Ask: Overtaking the Orderly and Sedate

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week AJ Fawver, City of Amarillo, Texas Planning Director, writes about innovation happening in the planning profession. You could be next. Sign up to be a guest writer for this column. “Growth is inevitable and desirable, but...

Ask Ellie & Jill: Your Social Media Footprint

In the series, ELGL members can anonymously send their questions, difficulties or scenarios to answers@elgl.org and receive a response from the ghost writing response team. Your name, organization and other details will not be shared in the posting or subsequent response. Dear Ellie & Jill, What advice can you provide on how to manage your local government social media...